My Special Ability Is Perfect Replication

by Stayrr

After transmigrating to this world where spiritual energy is revived, I realized that it’s a world rampaged by Direbeasts. But what is most exciting is that humans with special abilities do exist! It’s awesome to witness control of thunder and fire, titan’s transformation, limb regeneration, teleportation, telepathy, precognition and many more. And guess what? I have them all.

1. 1

Read My Special Ability is Perfect Replication Chapter 1 online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 1: Rampaging Direbeasts, the Age of Arcanas

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lantian Base City.

Central Hospital, Ward 302.

"I've crossed over?"

There was a slightly excited expression on Ling Jiu's face. He had originally been an ordinary office worker back on Earth and had been slogging hard for three meals a day.

However, as soon as he woke up, he realized that he had crossed over into this world and had been reborn as a teenager with the same name.

Well, so be it then since he had no attachments back on Earth. It was the beginning of a brand new life. The problem was…

This world was extremely dangerous!

The memory of his past life had told him that this was a parallel world, and it was also called Earth.

It was not until a catastrophe known as Woe of the Direbeasts, which swept the globe, that the planet was set on a path of no return.

A large number of dimensional rifts had appeared on Earth.

Arcane energy called the Gene Arcana had gushed out of the rifts and spread across the world, eventually leading to the evolution of the animals, as well as plant life, on Earth.

Meek kitties had become ferocious beasts with huge fangs and claws, while loyal doggos had become bloodthirsty demons. Even the bonsai plants in peoples' homes evolved into ravenous man-eating trees.

As for the birds and beasts in the wild that strictly followed the laws of the jungle, all of them had evolved into apocalyptic Direbeasts.

Disaster was inevitable!

Countless Direbeasts had begun to assail human habitats, and humans rose up in resistance, only to find that their proud firearms could kill some low-level Direbeasts.

Even nuclear weapons, which had served as a strategic deterrent before, were unable to have the desired effect. The consequences were devastating, with humans falling from the top of the food chain straight to the bottom!

Countless people perished!

Countless cities were destroyed!

Countless families were ripped apart!

In just a few years, the world's human population had plummeted from six billion to three billion, and half of the world's people had died by the claws of the Direbeasts.

"Why did I end up in such a dangerous world?" Ling Jiu felt suffocated.

It was an absolutely perilous world, and even though he was living in a base city, it was still dangerous.

One needed to know that the Lantian base city he lived in was just a medium-sized base city with a population of five million. If they ran into a slightly stronger Direbeast, the city's defenses would be at risk of being broken.

The teenager, whom Ling Jiu possessed, had been hospitalized due to serious injuries caused by a Direbeast that had broken into the base city.

"It looks like this young man with the same name as me, Ling Jiu was born into a broke-a* family, and his cheap father just declared bankruptcy last month. He is hundreds of millions in debt…"

Ling Jiu was in despair. It had not been easy for him to ride the wave to cross over. For him to end up in such a dangerous place on top of being broke, Ling Jiu had no idea if it was appropriate or not to verbalize the words in his heart!

"Forget it, let's just deal with it now that I'm here!"

Ling Jiu soon focused his attention on another thing: the Arcanites!

The animals and plants had evolved under the stimulation of the Gene Arcana, and humans, as part of Earth, were no exception.

A very few lucky ones had also evolved with the nourishment of the Gene Arcana and attained all kinds of incredible abilities!

Flame control, metal control, gravity control, instant movement, extreme speed…

People called these abilities… Arcana and those who had Arcanas… Arcanists!

The appearance of the Arcanites allowed mankind the ability to fight the Direbeasts. With the Arcanists' help, humans quickly established survival bases, and thus, managed to survive.

In this world of rampaging Direbeasts and all-around danger, the Arcanites pretty much defended humanity while they fought the Direbeasts. They also had a variety of privileges at the same time, and every Arcanist was of the upper class!

"Arcanists, eh? Forget the identity and status of one, having an Arcana itself is tempting enough!" Green light appeared in Ling Jiu's eyes.

In his previous life, people with special powers had only existed in novels, comics, movies, and TV series. But in this world, people with special powers existed!

Some could control fire and lightning, some could transform into giants, some could instantly teleport, while some could move at the speed of light…

"It's just so tempting! If I had an Arcana, it would be just so awesome…"

The more Ling Jiu thought about it, the more excited he got.

"There are generally two ways to become an Arcanists; one is having the talent for Arcana!

"The vast majority of Arcanites were born with natural talent, and as long as they reach the right age, they can participate in the Arcana Trials and awaken their Arcana!

"The problem is, there are very few people with innate Arcana talents, and there may not be one even in a group of a thousand. So, the number of Arcanists is very low, and of Lantian's five-million strong population, the number of Arcanites only comes to a few thousand!

"Second, via Arcana Agents!

"The Gene Arcana appeared thirty years ago, and after such a long period of research, scientists have successfully developed an Arcana Agent!

"I've heard that a single vial of Arcana Agent would allow an ordinary person without any Arcana talents to awaken their Arcana abilities. Unfortunately, that thing is just too expensive!"

Ling Jiu sighed. A vial of Arcana Agent was worth hundreds of millions, and the moment it appeared, all parties would snatch it up. Even if his dad were not bankrupt, he would not be able to afford it.

"It looks like I can only place my hope on the Arcana Trials in half a month's time!"

It is worth mentioning that while there were Arcanites in this world, the vast majority of people were still ordinary folk.

So, Huaxia still retained the college entrance examination system, and the Arcana Trials was a month before the college entrance examination.

If he was found to have Arcana talents during the trials, his life trajectory would change dramatically.

He would not need to take the college entrance exams, would not need to slog through college, and would directly be hired by an Arcana Agency. He would lead a completely different and exciting life.

"Brother, how are you?"

Just as Ling Jiu fell into deep thought, someone suddenly pushed the ward door open. Wearing a school uniform, a girl with unconcealable beauty came in with a bag of fruits.

What a kawaii 1girl!

She was a literal goddess!

Ling Jiu's eyes were wide open!

"Brother, what's the matter with you? Are you unwell?" The pretty girl looked puzzled.

"No-Nothing!"

Ling Jiu quickly shook his head, and his feelings were rather complicated. The beautiful girl was none other than his cheap sister… Ling Xiaotong.

Report chapter

Chapter 2: Jumping Up the Social Ladder, Arcana Trials

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A week later, with his body healed, Ling Jiu was discharged from the hospital. He then began his tedious school life.

His results in his past life had been good, and he had been a first-tier student. Yet, it was useless as the curriculum in this world was very different from the one in his past life. Even if you were an English professor, you might still fail this world's college entrance examination because… English was not even part of the subjects.

While he attended the boring classes, the 5th of May arrived in the blink of an eye. Just as the evening self-study session was about to end, the headmaster came in.

"I have something to tell you!"

The headmaster was a bespectacled middle-aged man, named Yin Guoping. "We all know that the Arcana Trials will begin tomorrow. I believe all of you are looking forward to it, but I would like to remind everyone to not place too much hope in it!"

"The chances of an Arcanists appearing is a thousand to one!"

"Hence, for the vast majority of us, the Arcana Trials is just a walk. There are also things that you need to do after the trials!"

"We only have one goal, and that's the college entrance examination next month!"

"Do you understand?"

Yin Guoping looked at everyone in the class.

"Yes, Sir!"

Everyone answered loudly, but the flame of hope was burning bright in their eyes.

Arcanists were upper-class folk. Should their Arcana be detected during the trials, they could jump up the social ladder and completely change their own fate as well as the fate of their family.

Who would give up so easily?

"It all depends on tomorrow!"

Looking at the eyes of the students in the class, the headmaster sighed. He would say the same thing year after year, and it would always fell on deaf ears.

Early the next morning, the schoolyard was packed, as all of Lantian First Highschool's third years had arrived.

"Ol' Ling, I'm nervous!"

Ling Jiu's best buddy, Li Kai was particularly nervous. His family background was ordinary, but he was easygoing and righteous. He could get along with Ling Jiu, so their relationship was good.

"Ol' Li, chill. If you're fated to get it, you'll get it. If you aren't, it won't come no matter how much you try!" Ling Jiu smiled and comforted him.

Although he said that, he was equally nervous inside.

It was a moment that would truly determine one's fate, who could stay calm?

"Ol' Ling, you're just too steady!"

The clock struck eight amidst everyone's uneasiness, and the principal, as well as other school leaders, led a group of people up the stage in the schoolyard.

Others carried some instruments and placed them on a pre-prepared table.

After he waited for everyone to settle down, the principal looked at the sea of students as he said with a loud voice, "Today's the Arcana Trials. First, let us all welcome with warm applause, the Manager of the Longwind Arcana Company's Lantian Base City branch, Mister Dai Changsheng and his team!"

Clap, clap, clap!

Thunderous applause rang across the field, and all of the students stared eagerly at Dai Changsheng as well as the employees of the Longwind Arcana Company he had brought with him.

In this world, Arcanites would generally choose to join a force.

The force could be the army, or an Arcana Agency, or a consortium, or a family, or some other organization…

These organizations, which had gathered many Arcanists, were the greatest forces of mankind, and they held resources that ordinary people could never reach.

The Longwind Arcana Company was one of the top 500 Arcana companies in Huaxia, and its branches covered many of Huaxia's various base cities. It was extremely strong.

To be able to become the general manager of the Lantian Base City branch, Dai Changsheng was definitely an Arcanite himself.

Who would not be excited to see an Arcanist?

"Hello, students!"

Dai Changsheng gave the students a simple greeting, and the Arcana Trials officially began.

The testing equipment were a combination of a computer and a mind helmet combination that they just brought.

There was a total of ten instruments, and each time ten people could undergo the trial.

After a class teacher called out names based on the list, ten students walked up the stage.

Then, with the guidance of Longwind's staff, they put on the mind helmets and started the trial.

"Is this the device to test if someone has Arcana talents? I heard it's expensive!"

"It's not ordinarily expensive! To put it bluntly, even if we were sold, the money from that won't be enough to cover one device!"

"Are you for real?"

"You think? The device is made out of two components, a smart computer and a mind helmet. Once we put on the mind helmet, our minds will be drawn into a preset virtual realm by the computer, and we'll experience some extreme situations!"

"At the same time, a special silver needle on the helmet will stimulate the pineal gland at the front of our brain and input the Gene Arcana into it."

"Under the twin stimulation, people who have Arcana talents will generally awaken successfully…"

As the audience below whispered, Longwind Company's staff operated the computers.

The next moment, all ten students screamed because they had encountered something unusual. Some were angry, some were desperate, some were fearful, some were excited…"

Their expressions were varied but all extreme.

Ling Jiu was secretly amazed. While experiencing extreme stimuli and injecting the Gene Arcana into the pineal gland, Arcana would be awakened under the twin stimuli. So this was the Arcana Trials!

Of course, only those with latent talents would awaken. If you did not have any Arcana talent, it would only be as good as tossing about and doing nothing.

"I wonder if these ten students have Arcana talents?"

Ling Jiu stared at the ten students closely, and all of the students on the field watched them nervously as well.

It was the first time most people were watching an Arcana Trial, but it might also be the only time in their lives.

Unknowingly, a minute had passed, and aside from screaming, the ten students showed no abnormal behavior.

"They have no Arcana talents!" Dai Changsheng shook his head and motioned the staff to stop the trial.

"Next batch!"

The school leaders had long gotten accustomed to this. There were too few students with innate Arcana talents, and in the previous years, getting even one was good enough. In fact, for many years, there had not been a single student with Arcana talents.

This year's trials had only just begun, so it would be impossible for them to strike something yet, so they had to be patient.

"Next batch!"

"Next batch!"

"Next batch!"

The North had started to warm up in May, and as time passed, the sun rose increasingly higher while the students waited nervously under the scorching sun.

When it was close to noon, the first to the tenth classes had completed the trial.

What made everyone sad was that the ten classes had more than five hundred students in total, and no one had any Arcana talents.

Seeing this, many students gradually despaired.

"To think that there's no one in the first ten classes with Arcana talents… It looks like we're done for!"

"Damn, the probability is just too low!"

Ling Jiu was secretly anxious. He was not a person without confidence, but he was unable to muster any confidence with the situation before him. Ten classes, and not a single person. That made it impossible to have hope!

"Ol' Ling, it's our class' turn!"

Report chapter

Chapter 3: Arcana Awakened, But It's Not Me

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ling Jiu looked up and saw Yin Guoping. Their class teacher was walking toward the rostrum with a list in hand.

"Whether I'll live an easy life or slog for the rest of my life, it all depends on this!" Ling Jiu said to himself.

His student number was "36", and he was in the fourth batch of his class. After a few minutes, it was his turn.

"Zhang Hui!

"Ma Tianyu!

"Wang Fang!

"Luo Dachou!

"Li Xiaoqiang!

"Ling Jiu!

"Li Kai!"

"Ol' Ling, I'm so nervous!"

Li Kai's trembling hands were sweaty.

"Ol' Li, look on the bright side, this is just an Arcana Trial, not a blind date with a gold-digger. What the hell are you afraid of?"

Ling Jiu smiled faintly and stepped up the stage first, but because he was too nervous, he stepped on air and stumbled like a fool.

"Ol' Ling, are you all right?" Li Kai asked with concern.

"I'm fine. Sh*t, a bad start!"

Ling Jiu quickly got up and went up the stage nervously. Then the staff from Longwind Company placed the mind helmet on his head.

"Whoaaa."

Ling Jiu only felt his consciousness blur for a moment before he arrived in a completely unfamiliar environment.

The wind was howling and bitingly cold. As he looked over, he saw that the earth was covered in thick white snow. This was a world of ice and snow.

"Is this the virtual world created by the smart computer?" Ling Jiu was shocked. "This is too real, isn't it?"

Was it real?

It was absolutely real!

The white snow, the howling winds, the white icebergs, and the crunchy sound of footsteps on the snow… Ling Jiu even felt the bone-chilling cold.

Was this really a virtual world?

"Roar!!!"

Just as Ling Jiu was wrecked by uncertainty, a thunderous roar rang out in the distance. As the rolling sound wave rushed over, Ling Jiu's eardrums felt like they were about to shatter.

Turning around, he saw a polar bear about hundreds of meters tall leaping toward him.

Boom.

Boom.

The polar bear landed on the ground in thunderous thuds as the earth shook. The terrifying threat sent Ling Jiu trembling.

"It's fake! It's all fake! It's a virtual environment, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

Ling Jiu tried his best to tell himself that, but his body shook uncontrollably, especially when he looked at the fast-approaching polar bear. The fear in his heart became stronger and stronger. In the end, the polar bear lunged at Ling Jiu and crushed his head with a snap of its jaw…

Woooshhh!!

Another blur later, Ling Jiu sensed that his mind had exited the virtual space. Right then, he was drenched in cold sweat. His legs were shaking uncontrollably, and his face was extremely pale.

"That… That was scary!"

Recalling the image earlier, Ling Jiu felt the lingering fear in his heart. Before he could completely calm down, though, an excited voice suddenly traveled into his ears. "Someone has awakened!"

"Awakened? Could it be me?"

Ling Jiu was shocked as he looked at the owner of the voice. It was Dai Changsheng.

He only saw Dai Changsheng look in his direction with a gratified expression. "Boy, congratulations on being the lucky one and awakening the power of the earth!"

"Awakening the power of earth? Is it me?"

Ling Jiu was so excited that he could not help himself. He then saw the principal, the class teacher, and the top school leaders all walking toward him.

The principal even stretched out his hands enthusiastically as he tried to shake his hand. Ling Jiu was so elated that he was about to reach out and shake the principal's hand.

Unexpectedly, the principal walked past him, and the class teacher, as well as all those from the school's top echelon, walked past him. They made their way to the person beside him and surrounded that person.

"This student here, what's your name?"

"Li… Li Kai! I'm Li Kai!"

"Li Kai, congratulations!"

"Li Kai, you are the pride of First High…"

Ling Jiu turned around and looked at Li Kai, who was surrounded by the principal, the class teacher, and the leadership cadre of the school. His whole being was struck by lightning…

He only saw countless grains of yellow sand surrounding Li Kai and dancing around him like fairies. They did not seem to be bound by Earth's gravity but were, instead, controlled by Li Kai.

He then looked at himself; there was nothing.

"Li Kai awakened the power of earth? Not me?" Ling Jiu felt like he had fallen into an ice cave, and if there was a song to describe his mood now, there was nothing more fitting than the following:

Fluttering snow…

Howling winds…

The world was nothing but a blur…

"God, why have you screwed me over?!"

Ling Jiu did not know how he left the stage. The greatest pain in life was to be given hope, only to have it extinguished…

"Sigh, bloody hell!"

Ling Jiu was not in the mood to watch the rest of the trials as he prepared to find a place to vent. As for the others… they could go to hell!

"Ol' Ling!"

Li Kai's voice rang out from behind. Ling Jiu turned around and looked at Li Kai who was walking over. "Ol' Li, congratulations!" He forced a smile.

"Ol' Ling!"

Li Kai was still stuck in his state of euphoria as he hugged Ling Jiu and shouted, "Ol' Ling, I've awakened my Arcana! I've awakened my Arcana!"

"Congratulations!"

Ling Jiu smiled bitterly and congratulated Li Kai. However, he was promptly stunned because the moment Li Kai grabbed him, a few lines of weird golden characters suddenly appeared before him.

Name: Li Kai

Race: Human

Arcana: Earth Manipulation (Awakened, replicable)

"Bloody hell!"

Ling Jiu thought that he was hallucinating, and he shook his head vigorously. Yet, the few lines of small characters were stuck in front of his eyes, and they remained there.

"The hell?"

Ling Jiu pulled away from Li Kai, and the lines of words disappeared. When he touched Li Kai again, the words appeared once again.

Name: Li Kai

Race: Human

Arcana: Earth Manipulation (Awakened, replicable)

After several consecutive attempts, Ling Jiu discovered something weird.

Whenever he came into contact with Li Kai, the words would appear.

"Could it be… This is my Arcana?"

"Replicable… What does that mean? Can I replicate Li Kai's Arcana?"

Ling Jiu's breathing became erratic as he tried to replicate it.

Wooosh!!

The small words instantly spread out and formed a golden light that enveloped Li Kai.

At that moment, Li Kai seemed to be covered by a thin golden veil, which completely enclosed him from head to toe.

About ten seconds later, the golden light left Li Kai's body and returned to Ling Jiu. This time, a set of different characters appeared:

Replication successful. Assimilate?

"Assimilate!"

Chapter 4: Secret Arcana Technique, Attempts to Win Over Commence

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wooosh!!

The small golden letters transformed into a golden light stream and poured into his brain.

Immediately after, extremely condensed energy exploded in Ling Jiu's head and swept through his entire brain.

Vooosh!!

Ling Jiu felt like he had been struck by lightning as a heart-piercing pain struck his nerves. He let out a painful scream, hugging his head as he rolled around.

"Ol' Ling, what's wrong?"

The sudden development frightened Li Kai, and his other classmates also surrounded him.

"My… head… hurts!"

Ling Jiu had a splitting headache while beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. It felt like his head was about to explode.

"Ol' Ling, I'll take you to the hospital right away!"

Li Kai took out his cell phone and was about to dial 120. At that moment, the school's top cadre and Dai Changsheng, who had noticed the commotion, also ran over.

"What's happened to this student?" the principal asked nervously.

"Principal, Ling Jiu says his head hurts!" Li Kai anxiously replied.

"You have to hurry and send him to the hospital!"

"Call 120! Call 120 now! We cannot have an incident in school!"

The principal waved his hand, and immediately, one of the school's top cadres was ready to make a phone call. However, Dai Changsheng had a look of delight. "Congratulations, Principal Wang!"

"Mr. Dai, what do you mean?" The principal appeared dumbfounded.

"If I'm not wrong, this student here is awakening his Arcana!" Dai Changsheng said with a smile.

"Awakening his Arcana?"

The principal and the school leadership cadre were taken aback. The class teacher was even more puzzled. "Ling Jiu already went through the trial earlier, but his Arcana wasn't awakened then. It's only happening now?"

"That's normal!"

Dai Changsheng smiled faintly. "Under normal circumstances, many people with Arcana talents awaken their Arcana during the trial, but there are also a few that awaken their Arcana after the rest, as there is a buffer period in between!"

"Oh, I see!"

Everyone suddenly came to a realization, and the principal said with surprised elation, "Meaning, two third-year students have successfully awakened their Arcana this year?"

"A joy that comes in a pair, Principal!"

"I never thought that our school would awaken two Arcanists at once. This is a great achievement, and the reward will definitely be remarkable!"

"Congratulations, Principal!"

"Hahaha, same to you, same to you!"

Hearing everyone's congratulatory wishes, the principal was so happy that his snot came out of his nose. In the past, it was already nice to have one awakening. But this year, two of them awakened, and good things came in pairs. One needed to know that an Arcanist was much more valuable than a college entrance examination ace.

The onlooking students also whispered among themselves, their eyes full of envy and hatred.

"What kind of sh*t luck do these guys have?"

"So many students didn't manage to awaken their Arcanas, but these two did? Why?"

Jealousy distorted people. It would have been fine if it had been someone else, but what kind of people were Ling Jiu and Li Kai?

They had average grades.

They came from average families.

They had nothing else aside from their looks, yet these good for nothings actually awakened their Arcanas. The gods must have been blind!

"Ol' Ling, how are you feeling?"

Seeing Ling Jiu gradually stabilize, Li Kai asked with concern.

"I'm… okay!"

Ling Jiu wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and forced a smile. His face was still pale; the headache earlier had wrecked him.

"Ol' Ling, you've also awakened your Arcana!"

Li Kai helped Ling Jiu up, his face full of excitement. "Do you realize that you've awakened your Arcana?!"

"I've also awakened my Arcana?"

Ling Jiu pretended to be bewildered as he sensed the principal and the others surround him. "Student Ling Jiu, congratulations on awakening the power of earth!"

"Ling Jiu, congratulations!"

Hearing the school leaders and the class teacher congratulate him, Ling Jiu was thrilled.

The awakening of his Arcana was certainly exciting, but what excited him even more was that the Arcana he awakened… seemed to be a very incredible one. It was the ability to copy other Arcanas?

An Arcana that was meant to replicate other… Arcanas? That sounded awesome!

Ling Jiu knew that there were many Arcanas in this world, but it seemed as though such an ability to copy other people's Arcanas had never appeared!

"I'm able to copy another person's Arcana… My own Arcana is just too overpowered! I need to keep it a secret! Before I get a hold of things, I better not let anyone else know!"

Subsequently, the school leadership cadre, Dai Changsheng, and the others returned to the stage to continue the Arcana Trials while Ling Jiu and Li Kai were invited to join them.

"Li Kai, Ling Jiu, first of all, congratulations on successfully awakening your Arcanas and becoming glorious Arcanists!" Dai Changsheng smiled.

"Thank you!"

"Now, let's talk about your Arcanas!" Dai Changsheng said with a smile.

"Both of you are very lucky to awaken the Earth-element Arcana!

"Both of you should know that Arcanas are mainly divided into four types: Elemental Manipulation, Body Morphing, Mental-type, and uncategorized Special-types!"

"The Earth-element Arcana that both of you have awakened is the Elemental Manipulation type. It is a very powerful combat ability and rather rare!"

Ling Jiu and Li Kai nodded repeatedly. Different Arcanas had different uses.

Some were combat-type Arcanas like the Earth-type, Fire-type, and Gigantization-type Arcanas.

Some were support-type Arcanas like Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Seeing-through, and Intangibility.

Other Arcanas were even more special like Mind-reading, Invisibility, Precognition, and Telepathy.

"Different Arcanas have different usages, but in this world where Direbeasts are rampaging, combat Arcanas are undoubtedly more popular!"

Dai Changsheng smiled and said, "So I hope that both of you can join our Longwind Arcana Company."

"In the name of the branch's general manager, I assure you that as long as you join us, you will enjoy the following benefits!

"Firstly, you will gain a low-level Gene Arcana secret technique! I assume both of you have heard of the Gene Arcana secret techniques, right?"

Dai Changsheng smiled and said, "It's equivalent to those inner strength techniques that the martial arts masters use. With it, we can absorb the Gene Arcana that's floating in the air and make ourselves stronger!"

The Gene Arcana secret techniques!

Ling Jiu was shocked.

Since the emergence of the dimensional rifts, the Gene Arcana had appeared on Earth. However, ordinary people could not sense them. Only the Arcanists who had awakened their Arcanas could clearly sense and absorb the Gene Arcana.

In theory, even without a Gene Arcana secret technique, one could still absorb the Gene Arcana, but it would be far less efficient than it would be with the technique.

Thus, the Gene Arcana secret techniques were paramount for Arcanists, just like the inner strength techniques were for martial arts masters.

It was also why so many Arcanists joined Arcana organizations; they would only attain Gene Arcana secret techniques by joining an organization.

"Secondly, we will arrange a stand-alone villa for each of you! Of course, the stand-alone villas are company properties, so you only have the right to reside in them, not buy or sell them!" Dai Changsheng continued.

If the Gene Arcana secret technique was a bit foreign to Ling Jiu, as well as Li Kai, and they did not know the value of the technique, the two stand-alone villas moved them greatly.

Why?

It was just too extravagant!

Most parts of the world had been occupied by Direbeasts. Oceans, forests, lakes, rivers, mountains, towns, county seats, and county-level cities had almost been turned into Direbeast lairs, while humans could only hide inside base cities to survive.

How big could a base city be?

Not to mention, there were so many mouths to feed!

So, the land in a base city could only be described as prohibitively expensive, and ordinary people could only live in government-built, low-cost housing.

Stand-alone villas?

Do not even bother thinking about it!

If you wanted to live in a villa, you needed to have not only the money but also authority and status to go along with it. Out of the five million people in the entire Lantian Base City, no more than ten thousand could afford to live in villas.

Yet now, as long as the two of them agreed to join Longwind Arcana Company, they would be part of this club of five thousand and live in villas. How could they not be excited? How could they not be fired up?"

Dai Changsheng was very satisfied with their expressions, and he continued, "Thirdly, the employees of Longwind Arcana Company are naturally paid a salary. I will offer you a basic salary of 30,000 a month, not inclusive… of allowances!"

"Thirty thousand a month?"

Li Kai's breathing became erratic, and Ling Jiu was tongue-tied too.

Lantian Base City was located in the North, and material prices were relatively low so wages were naturally not high. The average wage was about 3,000 a month.

Their class teacher had a deadbeat salary of four to five thousand a month, while both of them, mere senior high school students, could get a basic salary of 30,000.

What kind of reasoning was that?

"Fourthly, after joining our Longwind Arcana Company, you can participate in the company's Arcana classes for free and receive free instructions from Arcana trainers. You have free use of the company's training room, free log in into the company's website… and many other benefits!"

Dai Changsheng smiled. "I believe that in the entire Lantian Base City, there is almost no other organization that can provide such generous benefits. Please consider if you would like to join our Longwind Arcana Company!"

"Mr. Dai, there's no need to think!"

Li Kai was already tempted, and all hesitation went out of the window the moment he heard that. He immediately prepared to agree to it.

However, Ling Jiu hurriedly pulled him back. "Ol' Li, this is a major life event. You should at least discuss this with your parents?"

"Is it necessary?"

Li Kai was rather disapproving, but the second he saw Ling Jiu's wink, he nodded obediently. "Ol' Ling, you're right, I should discuss this with my parents!"

Dai Changsheng observed their expressions and looked at Ling Jiu with surprise. "This is indeed a major life event. You should discuss it with your parents. This is my business card. You can give me a call once you've made up your minds!"

"Thank you, Mr. Dai!"

Chapter 5: Testing Arcana, Pangu Ant Form

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Ol' Ling, why did you stop me? Aren't you tempted?"

Ling Jiu and Li Kai left the stage. Their life trajectory had completely changed, and they no longer needed to prepare for the college entrance examination. Now, they could go wherever they want, and the school would not interfere.

"Of course I'm tempted! But I still know the truth about shopping around for anything!"

Ling Jiu smiled and explained, "We have already awakened our Arcanas. I believe that other organizations will catch wind of the news soon and contact us. We can have a look at the offers given by the other organizations before we make our final decision!"

"Ol' Ling, you're still the smarter one!"

Li Kai was not a fool. Naturally, he could understand Ling Jiu's reasoning and could not help but feel ashamed.

"I'm just slightly calmer than you!"

Ling Jiu touched his nose and said with a smile, "Where are you heading now? Wanna go home to tell our parents or find a place to have fun?"

"Let's go home first. I need to tell my parents this good news!" Li Kai touched his head and smiled. "They'll be very happy once they know that I've awakened my Arcana!"

"Then let's part ways here!"

"Keep in touch!"

"Okay!"

Both of them went their separate ways after they left school. Ling Jiu did not rush home, instead, he looked for a secluded area and started to test out the Arcana he had obtained.

He had already tried replicating an Arcana earlier.

Now, he wanted to test out the replicated Earth-element Arcana.

Ling Jiu found a rock, and for some reason, rocks had always felt like inert objects in the past, but now… they felt different?

He could seemingly control the rock with just a thought. It was a very strange feeling that he never had before.

Rise! Ling Jiu said in his heart, and a rock the size of a watermelon floated up.

While it trembled and looked like it would fall to the ground at any moment, it soon flew.

Ling Jiu was thrilled. "F*ck! I'm controlling the rock! I can actually control the rock…"

Since he got too excited, his concentration was not enough, and the rock fell to the ground with a crash. Ling Jiu did not mind it and continued to try.

"Rise!

"Fall!

"Turn!

"Accelerate!

"Stop!

"Split!"

The rock split in half.

"Crumble!"

The rock turned into dust.

"Hahahaha, cool!"

Looking at the rock, which had been reduced to dust, fall all over the ground, Ling Jiu felt great.

He had absolute control of the rock, and it would strike wherever he pointed it to and do whatever he wanted it to do. It was a feeling that could not be described with words.

Well, there was one word: cool!

"So my Arcana Replication is real! The replicated Earth-element Arcana is also real!"

"It looks like I can finally relax!"

Ling Jiu left the corner feeling satisfied. He then looked for an Internet cafe by the road. He now had a lot of questions in urgent need of answers.

Ling Jiu found a deserted corner in the cafe and began to look up Replication Arcana.

Since Replication Arcana had never appeared in this world before, there was not much information on it. However, an article called The Hypothesis of Possible Future Arcanas caught Ling Jiu's attention.

The article opened with this:

There are no two identical eggs in this world or no two identical Arcanas!

The awakened Arcanists are the best evidence of this, and even Arcanas of the same type have many subtle differences.

Different people have different kinds of Arcanas, and the number of people on Earth equates to the number of Arcanas that may appear.

What kind of Arcana may appear in the future?

Immediately after, the author listed out a large number of Arcanas that had yet to appear, and he made detailed guesses of all these brand new arcanas… Replication was one of them.

"Replication Arcana is an incredible gift that will grant an Arcanist a computer's copy-paste ability to replicate other Arcanists' Arcanas. Its possessor could eventually become an omnipotent god!

"Of course, Replication Arcana can also have many limitations, like time of effect, cooldown, replication restrictions… and the like!

Ling Jiu read each word, and suddenly, he had lots of questions in his mind. "Are the Arcanas I replicate temporary or permanent?

"How long would it take for me to replicate again after I have replicated an Arcana?

"Can I replicate all Arcanas?

"Are there any flaws in my replications?"

The series of questions gave Ling Jiu a headache. He knew that he had no one to help him answer these questions and could only slowly stumble and learn by himself.

Ling Jiu then looked up the information of Arcana organizations, which were the world's largest power. Some powerful Arcana organizations had the right to equal dialogue with governments of countries too.

"It's always better to be under a shade. As a newbie, it's best if I join one of these organizations! The question is, which one?"

Ling Jiu opened the Top 500 Arcana Organization ranking and started to browse it from top to bottom.

The number one organization was obviously Pangu Arcana Combine, an Arcana organization founded by the number one powerhouse, Emperor Might.

Emperor Might!

He was Earth's undisputed number one powerhouse!

From his name, Emperor Might had Arcana associated with his body.

Indeed, Emperor Might's Arcana belonged to a body transformation-type, and he could transform into a very terrifying creature, the Pangu God Ant!

Ants were known as the "Hercules" of the natural world, and they were known for their strength.

Pangu God Ants were the emperors among ants, and they were extremely strong as well as violent.

It was said that a Pangu God Ant could lift something 10,000 times its own weight, and it was a powerful force of nature. Emperor Might had the ability to transform into a Pangu God Ant, so one could imagine how strong he was.

"Pangu Arcana Combine is the world's number one Arcana organization, with branches all over the world. Its founder is also the world's number one powerhouse. I'm of course happy to join such an organization, but… I'm afraid that the treatment I might get would not be comparable to that from weaker Arcana organizations!"

The more powerful an organization, the greater its ability to attract, and naturally, the recruitment threshold would be higher as well. Ling Jiu was not afraid of them looking down on him, but he was afraid of poor treatment.

It was something that could not be helped. Everyone wanted to enter the larger organizations, and with the extremely fierce competition, the treatment received would typically be poorer.

"Vulcan Arcana Combine was founded by the world's second-strongest, Vulcan. Vulcan has the ability to control fire… and rumor has it that his flames are unusual. It's a type of meteoric fire from space. It's temperature is terrifyingly high. There's nothing it cannot burn, and it's extremely lethal!

"This company is also good!

"Third…"

Chapter 6: Single-parent Family, the Gene Arcana

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Unknowingly, an afternoon had passed. After he was done researching, Ling Jiu left the Internet cafe and went home.

As soon as he entered through the door, he caught a whiff of a very tempting fragrance. "What is Dad cooking that smells so good?"

Ling Jiu came from a single-parent family. His parents had gotten a divorce when he was very young, so his father had raised both him and his sister single-handedly. With his father taking the role of two parents, the hardships he endured was not something outsiders would understand, especially some time ago, when his company declared bankruptcy.

The blow to his father was extremely big.

Had it not been for them, his two children, his father would have already thrown himself off the balcony and returned his soul to King Yama.

As a result, his father's mental state had not been very good recently. He had been drowning his sorrows with alcohol and was extremely dispirited. He had not cooked in a long time now.

Did the sun rise from the west today?

Just as Ling Jiu was feeling puzzled, his father poked his head out from the kitchen and was all smiles. "Son, you're back?"

"Dad, you're…"

After spending half a month's time together, Ling Jiu had slowly accepted this cheap dad of his. Besides, the latter was still very concerned about his son.

"I heard what happened in school from your sister!" Ling Tianci broke into a smile. "Son, congratulations on becoming an Arcanist! Dad is proud of you!

"I'll tell you what…"

Ling Jiu suddenly wrapped his head around it. No wonder his father had come out. He had found out that Ling Jiu had awakened his Arcana, and this was indeed a boost to him.

"Sit down and get some rest. Food will be ready soon. Later on, we'll have a couple of drinks and celebrate!" His father was very excited.

"Do you need any help?" Ling Jiu asked.

"No need!"

Not long after Ling Jiu sat down, his sister, Ling Xiaotong came home. The moment she entered the door, she lunged at Ling Jiu. "Brother, you're so awesome!"

"I just awakened my Arcana," Ling Jiu said with some disapproval.

"Ooooh, so pretentious! Go on!"

His little sister glared at him and added, "You know, after the trials were completed, the school hung a banner that said, 'Congratulations to Li Kai, Ling Jiu, and Han Chujun of our school on awakening their Arcanas and bringing glory to the school…'"

"Han Chujun? She also awakened her Arcana?"

Ling Jiu was a little surprised. Of course, he knew Han Chujun. She was a member of the Olympian class, and the first in class as well, so obviously, she was the first in the entire year!

What left an impression on Ling Jiu was that the girl was not only gifted academically, but she was also very beautiful. On top of that, she possessed a good familial background.

She could have relied on her looks and her father, yet she wanted to rely on her talents. That was Han Chujun.

"Even Han Chujun has awakened her Arcana. That's unexpected! Xiaotong, do you know what kind of Arcana Han Chujun awakened?" Ling Jiu asked.

"I heard that it's some kind of special-type Arcana. As for the details, I don't know!" His sister shook her head slightly.

"A special-type Arcana?"

"Food is ready!"

The meal was scrumptious. Ling Jiu's awakening of his Arcana was an earth-shattering event, and the family was filled with joy.

Dinner ended really late, and after he dismissed his overly excited and energetic sister, Ling Jiu returned to his room and tried to absorb the Gene Arcana.

"Theoretically, as long as you've awakened your Arcana, you can sense the existence of the Gene Arcana around you and absorb it into your body. I should be able to do it as well!"

Ling Jiu took a deep breath and completely calmed himself down. "I heard that the first absorption is the most difficult, and it will become easier later on!"

"Relax!

"Fully relax!

"Huhhh…

"Huhhh…"

A few minutes later, Ling Jiu gradually relaxed. His breathing became imperceptible, and even his heartbeat became much slower…

One minute, two minutes, three minutes…

Suddenly, Ling Jiu saw a light spot dancing around in the room like a firefly. It was drifting irregularly. Then, he saw a second, a third, a fourth…

More and more light spots danced around Ling Jiu like prancing fairies.

"Is this the Gene Arcana?"

Looking at the light spots, Ling Jiu's desire to consume them was instinctively aroused.

As the thought appeared in his mind, Ling Jiu noticed the nearest light spot flying toward him and disappearing into the top of his head.

Then, the second, the third, the fourth…more and more light spots entered his brain, and Ling Jiu felt a chill in his head.

"Is this what it feels like to absorb the Gene Arcana? It's amazing!"

While "consuming" the light spots one by one took forever, Ling Jiu did not feel any impatience. On the contrary, he found it to be a very novel feeling with a wonderful sensation of cultivating his inner powers.

Without realizing it, the night passed, and Ling Jiu was awakened by the alarm clock. "It's already six? Time sure flies!"

Ling Jiu clearly felt as if not much time had passed, but a whole night had actually gone by. More importantly, even though he had been absorbing the Gene Arcana for a whole night, he did not feel tired or sleepy at all. Instead, he was full of energy, and he never felt better.

"Brother, are you up yet?"

His sister's voice rang outside the door, and she still sounded very excited.

"I'm up!"

Ling Jiu opened the door, and a young girl in cute bunny pajamas was standing outside the door with dark circles under her eyes. "Didn't sleep well last night?" Ling Jiu asked.

"I was too excited last night!" His sister yawned. "Didn't sleep much at all!"

"Oh, you…"

Ling Jiu shook his head. "Hurry up and get ready. We still need to go to school!"

"Yeah!"

She nodded her head and curiously asked, "Brother, you don't need to go to school anymore, right? You also don't need to take the college entrance examination?"

"Of course!"

Ling Jiu smiled. "But I have to go to school today. The principal called last night and said he had something important to discuss with me!"

"I'm so jealous!"

Chapter 7: Final Choice, Joining Pangu

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The principal's office.

"Ling Jiu, Li Kai, Han Chujun, the main reason I asked all of you to come today is to discuss your enrolment in the Arcana organizations!"

The principal went straight to the point. "Yesterday, a total of 47 Arcana organizations contacted me! Of course, the military also asked me for all of your information. These are the details and relevant remunerations. Have a look!"

The principal handed them three sets of documents that had been previously prepared. The three then took the forms and slowly scanned through them!

"Ol' Ling, of the world's top ten Arcana organizations, nine are actually interested in us!"

Li Kai whispered, "Thankfully you reminded me yesterday, otherwise we would have missed out on so many big companies. Thank goodness!"

"The company's ranking is not the most important thing. It all depends on the remuneration packages. While these large organizations may be interested in us, their packages may not be as good as the smaller ones!" Ling Jiu said with a smile.

"Ling Jiu is right. In the past, the most enthusiastic and active ones in headhunting were the smaller organizations and companies. Plus, their remunerations were the best!"

Principal Wang smiled. "But everything has two sides to it. A smaller organization may pay you well, but they are not as good for your future development compared with the larger ones."

"The larger organizations are full of talent, and the competition is very fierce. However, gold always shines once the impurities are removed. Those who can gain a footing in those big organizations will become great individuals!"

The three nodded and continued to look through the documents.

"Wow, Immortal Arcana Company is actually offering a salary of 100,000 a month!"

"There's also this one, a villa alongside a salary of 80,000! This is just too tempting!"

"Ol' Ling, all of these companies' terms are sincere. I don't know how to choose!"

As he scanned through the salary and privileges given by each company, Ling Jiu's face might have looked calm, but his heart was beating fast.

The moment he agreed to either one of them, he would instantly transform himself and enter the ranks of the wealthy.

That was the life of the Arcanists, the talents that this world needed the most!

Of course, excitement was still, mere excitement. Ling Jiu knew in his heart that salary and privileges were all secondary. The most important thing was his future development.

How to make the most of his abilities to replicate Arcanas to become powerful was most vital to him.

That alone made him pass on the smaller organizations. The larger organizations were full of talent, and they would have more highly powerful Arcanas for him to replicate.

"So what do the three of you think? Do you have a choice in your heart?" Principal Wang asked with a smile.

Han Chujun nodded slightly.

Ling Jiu was silent.

Li Kai then looked at Ling Jiu.

"Tell me!" the principal asked with interest.

"I have a senior who's working in the headquarters of Vulcan Arcana Combine. He suggested that I join them. Although the salary and privileges may not be as good as those from the smaller companies, it will be good for my future development!" Han Chujun said truthfully.

"A very wise choice!"

The principal's eyes brightened. Things were easier when you had connections; that was an unchanging truth in any world. Han Chujun knew someone who worked in Vulcan Arcana Combine's headquarters, and that was definitely a big connection. If she used it well, she would need to navigate around lesser detours along the way.

Ling Jiu and Li Kai glanced at Han Chujun in surprise. It was rumored that her family had an influential background, but no one knew the details. They did not expect that someone from her family would be working in Vulcan Arcana Combine's headquarters. Her background was unusually influential.

"How about the two of you?"

The principal looked at Ling Jiu and Li Kai again.

"Ol' Ling, which one are you choosing?"

Li Kai looked at Ling Jiu.

"Pangu!" Ling Jiu declared his choice.

"Pangu Arcana Combine is the world's number one Arcana organization. It is extremely powerful, and generally, most Arcanists would choose Pangu!"

The principal nodded slightly. "But as I've mentioned, a large company means it is full of talent, and the competition fierce. It will be difficult for you to… stand out!"

"If we have to choose, we should choose the best!" Ling Jiu said with confidence.

"It's alright if the privileges we receive are a little lesser. I believe that if we work hard, we will be able to make something out of ourselves!"

"Well said!"

The principal had an approving look. "Young people should have such a spirit. This is good!"

"Li Kai, how about you?"

"I also choose Pangu!"

Ling Jiu and Li Kai took the certification issued by the principal and went to Pangu Arcana Combine's Lantian Base City branch.

The 30-story building was one of the tallest and most magnificent buildings in the entire Lantian Base City.

There was a menacing ant logo hanging at the center of the building, which was eye-catching. It was no ordinary ant, but the Pangu God Ant, the symbol of Pangu Arcana Combine.

"Welcome to Pangu Arcana Combine, how can I help you?"

The moment they walked into the lobby on the first floor, a beautiful receptionist walked over to greet them.

"Hello, we are here to apply to join the company. Here are our certifications!"

Ling Jiu handed over the certificate issued by the principal. As the receptionist took a look, the smile on her face grew more enthusiastic. "Please come with me!"

"Sorry to trouble you!"

As the receptionist led the way, Ling Jiu and Li Kai went up to the 30th floor, to the office of Pangu Arcana Combine's general manager.

Ling Jiu was taken by surprise when he realized that the general manager was actually a beauty. Her long fiery red hair looked like flames fluttering in the wind, and she had a very heroic air about her.

After a brief introduction, the beautiful manager named Luo Jia went straight to the main topic and produced two contracts, which she then handed to them.

"These are the contracts we have prepared for you. Please have a look first, and if there's nothing wrong with it, you may sign the contract!"

The two boys took their respective contracts and browsed through them. It was actually just a formality. The contract that Pangu Arcana Combine gave them was a standard contract. Even if they were dissatisfied with the terms, they would not change anything.

Again, large companies like Pangu were full of talent, and what they had was a constant stream of people who were willing to join them. If you were dissatisfied with the terms, you could just choose not to sign it.

Ling Jiu basically scanned through the salary, as well as privileges. Compared with the ones he had seen in the principal's office, the salary and privileges here were indeed much inferior to the ones offered by smaller companies.

A set of townhouses;

A monthly salary of 10,000;

One set of low-level Gene Arcana secret technique;

The rest…

However, since they had chosen Pangu Arcana Combine, all of that did not matter. After Ling Jiu and Li Kai confirmed that everything was correct, they signed the contract.

General Manager Luo Jia extended her hand and smiled. "Welcome to Pangu Arcana Combine, you two!"

Ling Jiu quickly shook Luo Jia's hand, and a few lines of tiny characters appeared before him again.

Name: Luo Jia

Race: Human

Ability: Fire Manipulation (Awakened)

"There's no option to replicate?"

Ling Jiu's expression changed slightly. "What's the situation? Is her Arcana's level too high or too powerful? Or is my ability to replicate still on cooldown?"

"Ahem! Ol' Ling!"

Li Kai's voice rang out beside Ling Jiu's ears, and he snapped back to reality. Seeing Li Kai stare at him with a weird look, Ling Jiu realized that he had grasped Luo Jia's hand and had not let go.

"Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts earlier!"

Ling Jiu was ashamed, and he quickly apologized.

"It's okay!"

Luo Jia smiled indifferently. "Since both of you have joined Pangu, I will give you a brief explanation on your next work arrangements!"

"Please go ahead!"

Ling Jiu and Li Kai sat up straight.

"Since both of you have just awakened your Arcanas and cannot even control your Arcanas freely, what the two of you need to do next is to study!

"The company has special training courses for newbies, and for the next six months, both of you will receive training!" Luo Jia said.

"After half a year, there will be a training assessment. You can only officially join Pangu after you pass that assessment!

"Let me remind you, if you fail to pass the assessment, your contract will be terminated, and you will be dismissed!

"Of course, the houses, salary, and the Gene Arcana secret technique given to you will also be taken back!"

Report chapter

Chapter 8: Luxury Villa, the Bahamut Absorption Technique

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ling Jiu and Li Kai left the general manager's office and went to the second floor to complete the formalities. Along the way, Li Kai felt very stressed and complained incessantly.

"There's actually a training assessment. If we don't pass, we'll be fired. Damn!"

"Don't worry, I've checked beforehand. The training you undergo when you initially awaken your Arcana is the fastest. As long as we practice earnestly and become Level 1 Arcanists, we are almost sure to pass the assessment!"

Ling Jiu smiled and comforted Li Kai.

There was a difference between the strength of Arcanists, and naturally, there was a level system. An Arcanist who had just awakened his or her Arcana was a Level 0 Arcanist and the weakest of the lot.

As they climb upward, every time their Arcana increased by a level, their strength would also grow by a level.

It was said that a Level 5 Arcanist could fly in the air freely like the birds.

Once they reached Level 9, they would have the ability to bring ruin to the world with just a simple gesture. They would almost be no different from the gods and immortals in the legends.

Beyond Level 9 was the penultimate realm for the Arcana, and those in that realm were called… the Zenith Arcanists.

"I hope I can pass the assessment smoothly. I don't want to be fired. If that happens, others would laugh to death!"

"Oh right, the manager said that even the Gene Arcana secret technique would be taken back. How is that thing taken back?"

"I heard it's through erasing your memories…"

The two of them chatted as they walked, and they soon arrived at the Human Resources Hall on the second floor. After they settled the formalities, both Ling Jiu and Li Kai received an employee card, a set of keys, and an introduction brief.

"Ol' Ling, where are we heading next?"

Looking at the villa keys in his hand, Li Kai's eyes were burning. He was unable to contain his excitement.

"Nonsense! We're going straight to our villas of course!"

"Wahahahaha, let's go!"

The villa that the company had arranged for them was located at the Great Tang Residences area, not too far from Pangu Arcana Combine. It was very convenient to go to work. Without a word, the two of them rushed directly to the Great Tang Residences, and after they showed the relevant identification, they entered the residential area.

Great Tang Residences was a high-end residential area. The distance between villas was surprisingly large, and the greenery in the residential area was also incredibly lush. Plus, all of the villas were four stories tall.

Rockery lawns, small bridges and flowing waters, verdant trees that lined the streets, and a vast man-made lake…

Compared with the low-rent housing community they had lived in previously, this place was simply heaven!

"This is more like a place that a person should live in. What the hell was the place we've been living in before?!"

"You're comparing a low-rent housing community with a high-end residential area like this? What do you think?"

"You're right. Heh!"

"Our unit is A-35!"

The two of them soon arrived at Unit A-35. The villa was surrounded by a meter-tall iron fence, and behind the fence was a townhouse-villa that consisted of three units. The villa was four-stories high; the first floor was the garage while the second to fourth floor comprised the residential area.

In addition, there was a stand-alone villa in front of and behind the villa. The garden was not huge and was about 50 square meters wide. Nevertheless, this garden was bigger than the low-rent house they had lived in earlier, which was about 40 square meters wide.

Looking at the luxurious villa hidden amidst the gardens and greenery, Li Kai said to himself, "I can live in that villa too? Ol' Ling, am I dreaming? Will everything be gone when I wake up?"

Slap!

"Ol' Ling, why the hell did you hit me?"

"To wake you up from your dream!"

After they completed touring the villa that afternoon, both Ling Jiu, as well as Li Kai, went home directly and decided to move in right away.

Upon witnessing such a high-end villa, they did not want to live in the low-rent housing community for another single moment.

The next day, Ling Jiu and Li Kai arrived at the office, and they were taken to the newbie training room. There were 13 other newcomers as well.

"I'm Bai Yang, and I'm your instructor!"

Instructor Bai Yang was a burly man in a short shirt and short pants that revealed his powerful muscles. "For the next six months, I will lead you through the rookie stage.

"During training, I hope that everyone will study hard, practice hard, and strictly follow your instructor's orders. Do not waste your precious talents and hard-won opportunities!

"First, let's learn about the Gene Arcana secret technique!

"The Gene Arcana secret technique is of great value to us Arcanists. A low-level technique will increase the efficiency of absorbing the Gene Arcana by 10 times!

"An intermediate-level Gene Arcana technique will increase it by 100 times!

"While an advanced technique, by 1,000 times!

"From this, we can see how great the effects of the Gene Arcana secret technique is on us Arcanists!"

"As such, it is one of the precious things in all Arcana organizations, and unless you join one of these organizations… you won't be able to learn it at all!"

Ling Jiu and the other 14 newcomers listened on in silence.

"The low-level Gene Arcana secret technique I'll be teaching all of you is the Bahamut Absorption Technique…"

In the following hours, Ling Jiu and the rest started to study intensely.

They learned about the low-level Gene Arcana secret technique—the Bahamut Absorption Technique, how to control their own Arcanas, and also learned about Arcanas as well as the Direbeasts.

The schedule for their daily course was extremely tight, and life was very fulfilling. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

On this day, Ling Jiu was absorbing the Gene Arcana as usual. He had to say that the Gene Arcana secret technique's effect was immediate. If Ling Jiu was absorbing the Gene Arcana like he was drinking water through a straw in the past, then he was doing so through a water pipe now.

The efficiency was 10 times higher, and the Gene Arcana absorbed was completely different.

After two months of absorption, the Gene Arcana in Ling Jiu's body was already quite potent, at least much more potent than it was two months ago.

"Ling Jiu, we're off work, let's go eat!"

Right then, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder. Ling Jiu abruptly opened his eyes and looked at the young man, who had patted his shoulder, with a baffled look.

The boy was called Wang Jiabao, and he came from Second Middle School. He was also the only person who had awakened his Arcana in Second Middle School. As they had been studying together and possessed similar personalities, they gradually became friends.

"Ol' Ling, what's wrong?"

When he saw the strange way Ling Jiu was looking at Wang Jiabao, Li Kai asked him suspiciously.

No-Nothing!"

Ling Jiu shook his head, but he was overjoyed because just now, his replication Arcana, which had been on cooldown for two months, could finally be activated again.

Name: Wang Jiabao

Race: Human

Arcana: Shadowform (Awakened, Replicable)

"Finally I can replicate an Arcana again!"

Ling Jiu was secretly excited. Over the past two months, he had been unable to replicate any Arcanas for the second time, and he had gotten worried.

He had thought that he might not be able to replicate any more Arcanas and never expected things to turn around today.

Thank goodness!

"It's been two months since the last replication, so the cooldown for my Arcana replication is two months?"

Ling Jiu's mind ran active again. "Since I can replicate an Arcana again, what should I replicate?"

While Pangu was comprised mostly of Arcanists, Ling Jiu only had contact with Instructor Bai Yang and the other 14 newcomers.

Ling Jiu knew all of their Arcanas.

Instructor Bai Yang's Fire Manipulation…

Wang Jiabao's Shadowform…

Yu Changsheng's Wind Manipulation…

Lin Xiaochen's Water Manipulation…

Zhao Xiang's Fire Manipulation…

Yin Ke's Hyperosmia…

And the like.

Chapter 9: Shadowform Arcana, Simple Test

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There were many choices.

So, which Arcana should he replicate?

"I have an offensive Arcana already. Should I replicate a life-saving one? I've heard that the training assessment is a practical field test, and sh*t will hit the fan if I get killed by a Direbeast!"

Thinking of this, Ling Jiu looked at Wang Jiabao. If there was an ability to save his life, then Wang Jiabao's Shadowform was undoubtedly the perfect choice.

"Guess I'll go with him!"

Ling Jiu quietly replicated Wang Jiabao's Arcana, and as he passed by the washroom, Ling Jiu deliberately touched his stomach. "I need to go to the can first. My stomach feels a little uncomfortable!"

"All right! Just come over quickly!"

Li Kai and Wang Jiabao did not doubt him as they left on their own. Ling Jiu entered the washroom and locked the door. After he confirmed that there were no cameras, he issued the assimilation command.

Voooshh!!

Although he had already experienced it before, that kind of headache where his head seemed like it was about to blow up still caused him much agony.

Ling Jiu covered his mouth and forced himself not to scream as he endured the pain.

Ten minutes later, the assimilation was complete, and Ling Jiu wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with a pained expression. If he could, he really did not want to go through the process again. It was just too painful.

After a short rest, Ling Jiu tried his newly-gained Arcana. With a thought, his body gradually disappeared and a black shadow simultaneously appeared on the ground.

It was quite a strange scene to only have a visible shadow without the person, but that was the Shadowform Arcana!

It was an Arcana where one became a shadow!

A few seconds later, Ling Jiu exited the Shadowform state and felt very satisfied with his new Arcana.

"I heard Wang Jiabao mention that one can see the shadow in bright places, but in a dark environment, nothing can be seen at all. If used well, there will be unexpected effects!

"Let's go eat!"

As he arrived at the canteen, Ling Jiu purposely bumped into someone while he ordered his meal, and indeed, he found that the Replication Arcana was on cooldown.

"So it'll be another two months before I can use it again!"

"After two months of studies and practices, all of you have made some progress. Today, let's test it out briefly!"

During the afternoon training session, Instructor Bai Yang did not ask everyone to practice on their own as usual. Instead, he announced a test.

"The test is very simple. It will test Arcana control!" Instructor Bai Yang glanced at everyone. "Let me see what level you've reached with the control of your Arcana!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Which one of you would like to go first?"

"Me!"

The 15 newbies looked at each other, and a tall teenager stood out. He was called Lin Xiaochen. His Arcana was Fire Manipulation, and he liked to show off!

"All right, you may go first!"

Instructor Bai Yang nodded slightly.

Lin Xiaochen moved to the center of the training ground, raising his right hand. With a roar, a cluster of crimson flames suddenly surged out of his hand. The flame danced on his palm, and he could not feel any burning sensation.

"Go!"

Lin Xiaochen performed a hard wave, and the flame shot toward a target three meters away. However, just as it was a meter away from its target, the flame weakened and dissipated.

"The attack range is only two meters!"

Instructor Bai Yang looked at Lin Xiaochen. "A proper Level 1 Arcana has a range of three meters. Yours fell a bit short, so you need to work hard!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Lin Xiaochen blushed and stepped back sheepishly. His showboating did not achieve the desired effect.

"Next!"

"Me!"

Zhao Xiang stood up as a water ball the size of a watermelon appeared in his hand. The water ball spun around and kept its spherical shape just like a certain someone's Rasengan1.

"Go!"

Zhao Xiang let out a low growl, and the water sphere shot out like a cannonball, instantly striking the track three meters away.

However, the power of the water orb was too dispersed, and it immediately dissipated upon striking the target. It turned into a pool of water and failed to destroy its target.

"The range is enough, but the control of your Arcana is still rough. Your water ball is flashy but pointless without any offensive capabilities!" Instructor Bai Yang commented.

Zhao Xiang's expression turned dour as he slinked back into the crowd.

Soon after, the others showed off their own Arcanas one after another. The variety of Arcanas made the event look like a dazzling magic show.

However, as Instructor Bai Yang commented, everyone's control of their Arcana was still very rough, and the displayed Arcana was no different than a magic trick.

"Next!"

The instructor looked at Ling Jiu and Li Kai. They were the last two, and Li Kai suddenly became nervous. He could not help but look at Ling Jiu.

"Let me try!"

Ling Jiu walked to the center of the training room, and under everyone's gaze, he grabbed the air, and a rock three meters away flew up.

Compared with the first rock Ling Jiu manipulated, this rock flew smoothly and steadily. It was unlike the first time when it trembled and looked like it was about to fall at any moment.

The rock instantly shattered as dust and debris scattered all around. In the blink of an eye, the rock had turned into a rock spear.

It was one meter long, as thick as an adult's thigh, and extremely sharp like a stalactite on the ground.

"Go!"

Ling Jiu pointed at the target, and the rock spear ripped through the air, shooting toward the target three meters away. With a snap, the target was pierced by the stalagmite.

It was not over yet. The moment the spear passed through the target, it suddenly stopped before turning back toward Ling Jiu. Then, the dust, as well as debris, flew up and gathered onto the surface of the rock spear.

A moment later, the rock returned to its original state, and Ling Jiu put it back in place.

Clap, clap, clap!

Instructor Bai Yang led the applause, and everyone else joined in when they saw it.

Instructor Bai Yang was full of praise. "Your control of your Arcana is quite proficient. You can almost accurately control it within a three-meter radius, and its lethality is good. You are the best performer so far, and I hope you can continue to work hard!"

"Thank you!"

Ling Jiu had a polite smile, but his heart was exploding with laughter. The feeling of being able to showboat before everyone sure was cool. I'm just too lame.

"Ol' Ling, you're just too amazing!"

When he returned to the group, Li Kai's eyes were full of admiration.

"You can do it too. Come on!"

Ling Jiu patted Li Kai on the shoulder.

"I'll try!"

Li Kai took a deep breath and walked to the center of the training room. Compared with Ling Jiu's skillful and precise control, his mastery was just as clumsy as the rest…

"All of you have been training for two months now, but I'm not happy with the results. Aside from Ling Jiu, your control over your Arcanas are a bloody mess!"

After the rest, Instructor Bai Yang commented, "Is it because you guys haven't been taking the class seriously? Or have you lot not practiced after work? In short, if all of you are still at this level after four months, I can only say that you will definitely be eliminated!"

Eliminated!

Everyone was shocked when they heard that. It was an unacceptable result to them, regardless.

Once eliminated, they would be fired. Humiliation aside, everything that the company had given to them would be taken back: the villa, the wages, the Gene Arcana secret technique, all of them would be taken back.

What was scarier was that the trial assessment was for the entire base city, and all newcomers would participate in the same assessment. If they failed, no other organizations would want them.

The consequences would be pretty much… terrible!

"I've said everything that I needed to say, and it's the same as always. If you want to pass the test, practice seriously and don't just think of playing around!

"That's all. You should know what to do!"

Report chapter

Chapter 10: Extra Practice, Attractive Rewards

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Ol' Ling, how come you're so strong? Do you have any tricks? Teach us!"

As soon as Instructor Bai Yang dismissed them, both Li Kai and Wang Jiabao approached Ling Jiu.

Ling Jiu smiled bitterly. "What trick? I've been practicing as soon as I get off work, and I usually don't stop until midnight. I don't even sleep at night because I spent the whole night absorbing the Gene Arcana!"

That was the truth!

As an adult, he was matured, and he had passed the stage of wanting to have fun a long time ago.

Plus, the Arcana was a superpower that he had always dreamed of, so it went without saying that Ling Jiu would work much harder.

Unexpectedly, in just two short months, he had increased the gap between him and the other youngsters!

"You've been doing additional practices after work!"

Wang Jiabao scratched his head and said in embarrassment, "I've been drinking and eating with classmates, as well as friends, after work or gaming in the Internet cafes or playing basketball or shopping with my girlfriend. I've never done any additional practice!"

"I'm about the same!"

Li Kai felt a little ashamed. In the past two months, he had become a successful person in the eyes of his classmates and relatives. He was popular and sought after for eating, having fun, and socializing, so how could he have time to practice?

Ling Jiu shook his head. They were at that playful age, plus, with the sudden drastic changes to their lives, it was understandable if they got engrossed in it for a while.

"Regardless, you two should take this seriously. Passing the assessment in half a year's time is the most important thing. It is key to whether you can stay in the company or not!"

Ling Jiu still advised them.

"Yeah, Ol' Ling, you're right. We'll have to put in hard training after work. We need to pass the training assessment!"

"Me too!"

After the test, Ling Jiu realized that everyone seemed to notice the urgency and seriousness of the matter, and they became much more serious than before.

Observing them, Ling Jiu worked even harder. He did not want to be overtaken by a group of brats.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, four months had gone by.

Today, as Ling Jiu was about to get off work, the general manager, Luo Jia came to the training room with an entourage of company leaders and looked for the new trainees.

"Ms. Luo, you're here!"

Instructor Bai Yang stepped forward to greet her.

"Instructor Bai, how are they doing?"

Luo Jia glanced at the 15 newcomers standing neatly in a row with their heads and chest high. The company leaders also looked at Ling Jiu as well as the rest.

"Passing the assessment shouldn't be a problem!" Instructor Bai Yang replied confidently.

"Is that so?"

Luo Jia raised her eyebrows as she looked at Ling Jiu and the other 14 people. "I have some bad news for you. Due to a last-minute request by the government, the training assessment this time around is for you and also the rejected ones!

"That means, the training assessment this time around is not only for you newcomers, but also the Arcanists who have independently awakened their Arcana in society. Also, those who were dismissed in previous years will also be participating!"

The expressions of Ling Jiu and the others changed dramatically.

In previous years, only new recruits would participate in the assessment. Most would be from major high schools, and some would be those who had awakened their Arcana themselves. Before this, those who had been eliminated in the past would not be allowed to participate.

Yet, this year… even those who had been knocked out in the previous years would be participating. It was a huge change!

One needed to know that those eliminated in the past years had trained at least a year longer than them. A whole year! What level of strength could they have reached in that time?

They would generally be better than this year's newbies, right?

It would be fine if that were the case!

The problem was, the rules of the assessment were very cruel!

"The content of the assessment is the same as in previous years. You will be sent to a county infested by Direbeasts. You need to hunt the Direbeasts down and collect their hearts!"

Luo Jia plainly said, "The more beast hearts you collect, the better your results will be!

"Although murder is not allowed during the assessment, you are allowed to snatch from one another!

"That means, even if you try your very best to kill the Direbeasts and dig out their hearts, there is a possibility that someone will snatch them away. In other words, this year's assessment is extremely unfavorable to you newbies!"

The hearts of Ling Jiu and the rest sank. In the previous years, only the newcomers competed, and everyone was basically at the same level of strength. Even if they were to compete and snatch from one another, it would be relatively fair.

This year was different. With a group of old farts who had been previously eliminated, their general strength and competitiveness would be higher than this year's newcomers!

"But, there are always two sides to a coin!"

Luo Jia continued, "The crueler the assessment is, the more you can demonstrate your capabilities. Gold always shines by washing away all that is not gold. Using my power as a general manager, I promise you that those who end this assessment in the top three will receive rich rewards!"

"There are rewards?"

Ling Jiu's ears immediately perked up.

"The first reward is an intermediate Gene Arcana secret technique that is worth one billion!"

"Whoaaaa!"

The 15 newcomers were in an uproar, and even Instructor Bai Yang was shocked. "A Gene Arcana secret technique that is worth one billion? The reward this year is that big?"

The efficiency of Gene Arcana absorption of a low-level secret technique was 10 times better, while the efficiency of an intermediate-level secret technique was 100 times better.

Therefore, using two similar Arcanists as a comparison, the amount of Gene Arcana one with an intermediate-level secret technique could absorb at a time was equivalent to the amount one with a low-level secret technique could absorb for 10 days.

The former's one year was the latter's ten years. It was a full ten times gap in cultivation!

"If I could obtain the intermediate Gene Arcana secret technique, my speed in absorbing the Gene Arcana would shot up to the moon?" Ling Jiu was very tempted.

"The second reward is the chance to resign your contract!"

Luo Jia continued, "Your current contracts are all C-level contracts. If you end up in the top three, you will be able to switch to an A-level contract!"

"A-level contract!"

The 15 newcomers were once again shocked. They had been in the company for almost half a year now, so they had naturally learned a lot about the company, such as things pertaining to employee contracts.

Ordinary employees generally had the lowest D-level contracts with a salary of several thousand, and they were no different from office workers outside.

Arcanists started off with a C-level contract, and not only did they have a basic salary of 10,000, but they also lived in luxurious townhouse-villas. Their benefits and privileges were much better than that of ordinary employees.

As for the higher B-level and A-level contracts, no further explanation was needed. It was said that once an A-level contract was signed, not only would the monthly salary be in the millions, the house would also be changed to a stand-alone villa.

In addition, there were many other benefits. What left the deepest impression on Ling Jiu was that he could enjoy a 30% discount when he shopped in the company's trade center. For example, an intermediate-level Gene Arcana secret technique that was worth one billion could be purchased for seven hundred million.

That was the benefit of an A-level contract!

Luo Jia swept her beautiful eyes over them. "After all is said and done, it still comes down to the same thing. As long as you perform well, the company will not be stingy! So, do your best!"

Report chapter

---

Read My Special Ability is Perfect Replication Chapter 11 online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 11: Arriving at the County City, the Test Begins

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Early the next morning, Ling Jiu and the other recruits were led to the Arcanist Directorate by Instructor Bai Yang as well as a company Arcanist.

The Arcanist Directorate was, principally, a government agency that oversaw all of the Arcanists in Lantian Base City. All Arcanists had to register with the directorate and receive oversight from the directorate.

Many arcanists had gathered in the square in front of the directorate building, and they were chatting with their peers from their respective companies.

Among them were independent Awakened Arcanists and the rejected ones from previous years.

Besides, the media was present too.

The new recruit training and assessment was a big event in Lantian Base City every year. The city would telecast the entire event live from start to finish. That showed the importance the government placed on the awakened Arcanist recruits.

The event began once the clock struck nine. It started with a customary opening ceremony, as well as speeches from the leaders, company, and Arcanist representatives. Right after all of that, the assessment program commenced.

The recruits hopped into cars, leaving Lantian Base City for the wilderness outside the city.

Ling Jiu was heading into the wilderness of this world for the first time. His eyes darted around as he could not hold back his curiosity.

On both sides of the pothole-filled road were bushes, trees, car wrecks, tires, bicycles, bones, and rubbish. It was a stark contrast to the neat environment of the base city.

Seeing all of this, Ling Jiu could imagine the images of the disaster that happened 30 years ago: Direbeasts were running on a rampage, while people were fleeing, abandoning their cars, public transport, and bicycles in a panic.

In the end, they abandoned their houses.

"It's a desolate world out here!"

"I can't believe that this is how it looks like outside the base city!"

"Is that a lake? It's big. I've never seen a lake as big as that! Also, the endless forest!"

As desolate as the wilderness was, there was also something that the base city sorely lacked: natural sceneries of lakes, forest, mountains, large trees, fields, and whatnot.

The scenery made these teenagers, who had never left the base city since they were born, gape in awe.

Ling Jiu lamented; compared with the humans in his past life, humans of this world lived in a compressed space, and the once-inhabited areas had turned desolate.

At the same time, the sky had also become bluer, the water clearer, and the air cleaner. The natural environment was so much better now than it was during his past life.

"A coin has two sides, and so does disaster. Who knows, perhaps the disaster was part of Earth's self-protective mechanism?"

Time ticked by rapidly as they looked at everything in awe. An hour later, the convoy arrived at the destination, Caijiapo County City.

Everyone disembarked.

"See this abandoned city in front of your eyes? This is Caijiapo County City, where you are going to undergo the test. The Direbeasts have taken over the city, turning it into a Direbeast haven!"

Director Yang of the Arcanist Directorate spoke through a loudspeaker. "Lantian Base City is committed to expanding the base city, and Caijiapo is an important target of expansion because of its ideal environment!

"So we have been actively getting rid of the Direbeasts in Caijiapo County City over the past few years and killed all the powerful Direbeasts. What's left is a massive number of Class 1 and Class 2 Direbeasts. That's why we have chosen this place as the test venue!

"Your mission is simple: enter Caijiapo County City, kill the remaining Direbeasts, and gouge out their hearts!

"Remember this: Safety first, and test second. Avoid going at it in teams for safety because that will affect your assessment!

"The test will last for three days!"

The county city was dilapidated, with feces and Direbeast carcasses filling the streets. Nature had reclaimed the city, as vegetation had covered shops and tall buildings. It looked almost like a lost city in a movie.

As Ling Jiu walked on a street that was overgrown with grass and bushes, he could not help but lament the changes that the county city had undergone in just 30 years.

While Ling Jiu was still deep in thought, a gust of powerful wind blew behind him. His heart skipped a beat as he quickly flipped two meters to the side, dodging the attack.

A beast scraped past him and landed on the ground in front of him.

It was a giant hound-type Direbeast that was two meters long. It had a mane with needle-like fur all over its body and four 10-centimeter-long fangs in its mouth.

"A Class 1 Direbeast, a Sabretooth Hound!"

Ling Jiu immediately recognized it.

Besides practicing the Bahamut Absorption Technique to absorb the Gene Arcana and controlling his Arcanas for the past six months, he had also learned theoretical knowledge about Arcanas and Direbeasts, including how to differentiate their species.

Ling Jiu was confident that he could recognize every species of Direbeast ever recorded.

The Sabretooth Hound had evolved from a husky, but it differed from it in the sense that it was extremely vicious, aggressive, and fast. Its mouth had a crushing force more powerful than that of a lion.

The Sabretooth Hound roared as it stared viciously at Ling Jiu before it leaped into the air and made a move to bite Ling Jiu's throat.

Ling Jiu was dead sure that he would have to say goodbye to his head if the Direbeast got its mouth on his neck.

"Here you go!"

Ling Jiu raised his hand and grabbed a rock from the ground without having to actually touch it. The melon-sized rock felt like nothing in his hand as his movements were quick.

He hit the Sabretooth Hound in the mouth, breaking several teeth before he raised the rock again and hammered down on the hound's skull.

The Sabretooth Hound howled in pain as the force sent it flying backward.

"I'm not done with you yet!"

Ling Jiu stomped his foot on the ground and a vast number of earthen spikes jutted out of the ground into the Sabretooth Hound's body.

The hound quietened and was motionless. Afraid that it was feigning death, Ling Jiu smashed its head with a rock for good measure.

After that, he took out a knife and gouged out its heart, which he then put in a dimensional pocket.

It was said that the dimensional pocket was the pouch that the dimensional kangaroos used to carry their young. It had roughly a hundred cubic feet in space and was a handy storage space.

However, this gadget was expensive. Not every Arcanist could afford one. Ling Jiu had gotten this one as a loan from the company. He would have to return it after the test.

"Moving on to the next one!"

Report chapter

Chapter 12: Gravity Arcana, the Class 2 Direbeast

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ling Jiu arrived before an abandoned shop and heard a noise inside. Peeking through a shattered window, he saw a few kittens the size of toy poodles playing inside.

The kittens had fluffy, fire-red fur, and they were cute to the max. Girls would surely love them.

Nonetheless, Ling Jiu knew that they were not ordinary kittens but Firecats, which looked adorable when they were young but became blood-thirsty demons once fully grown.

"Should I kill them?"

A meow entered his ear while Ling Jiu mumbled to himself.

He looked sideways as a sharp pain hit his face followed by four bloody streaks.

"Damn it!"

Ling Jiu became furious, and he glared at the attacking Firecat.

It was one meter tall and two meters long with fiery-red fur as well as a pair of ruby eyes; that was the Firecat.

The Firecat was a Class 1 Direbeast. Not only were its movements as quick as lightning, but its claws were also incredibly sharp. Its combat strength was a notch higher than that of a Sabretooth Hound.

"How dare you scratch my handsome face! I'll kill you!"

Ling Jiu attacked it by thrusting his stone spear forward.

The Firecat dodged it easily and struck its claws at Ling Jiu's throat.

Its claws were so terrifyingly sharp that they could easily slit his throat open.

"Go to hell!"

Ling Jiu hissed, stomping his right foot on the ground. An earthen wall rose and blocked the Firecat's attack.

The Firecat leaped onto the earthen wall and easily scaled over it. Then it pounced on Ling Jiu, who greeted it with three pomelo-sized marbles.

True to its reputation as a speed-type Direbeast, the Firecat dodged the marbles. But little did it expect that the three marbles would make a one-eighty turn in the air.

The move shocked the Firecat, but it was too late to dodge.

Dush! Dush! Dush!

The three marbles hit the Firecat in its waist and abdomen, causing it to lose its balance in the air.

Seizing the opportunity, Ling Jiu gripped a stone spear in his hand and thrust it at the Firecat's belly, the softest part of its body.

The stone spear penetrated its belly, and the Firecat struggled for a moment before it dropped dead to the ground.

Ling Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. Speed-type Direbeasts were nasty because of their speed. Lucky for him, his skills were good enough to kill the Firecat.

He cut out the Firecat's heart, then shot a glance at those Firecat kittens in the shop and snapped his fingers.

Boom!

The shop collapsed instantly, swallowing those few kittens, which were too young. Those Class 1 Direbeasts and their hearts were of no value to him, but they had to die because they were Direbeasts.

"Help! Help!"

Ling Jiu moved on, but before he could make it far, he heard a distressed voice calling for help.

Following the voice, he ran over and witnessed something terrifying.

A python as thick as the thigh of an adult with patterns on its skin was wrapping itself around a teenager.

The teenager was trying to fight back frantically and calling out for help. However, the python was too strong for him, and his struggle was futile.

As the python squeezed tighter, the teenager's voice became weaker, and the bones inside his body crackled.

"Help-Help me!"

The teenager spotted Ling Jiu. Knowing that Ling Jiu was his last hope, he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Ling Jiu knew that he could not let the kid die. They could compete with and rob each other of their harvest later, but watching the other die without lending a helping hand was a no-no. It would reflect badly on a person's character and be detrimental to a person's career development.

"Eat this!"

Ling Jiu raised his hand, and the rocks formed a stone hammer in his hand. He wielded the colossal hammer and smashed down the python's head.

Dush! Dush! Dush! Dush!

Repeated blows smashed the python's head, forcing it to gradually ease up its squeeze, and the teenager escaped.

"Thank you so much for saving me!"

The teenager looked at the python with its smashed head. "I would have died if it weren't for you!"

"You're welcome. Just be careful next time!" Ling Jiu reminded the teenager, patting him on the shoulder.

He suddenly froze. The moment he lay his hand on the teenager, a few lines of text appeared in his vision.

Name: Fu Changan

Race: Human

Special ability: Gravity Manipulation (Awakened, replicable)

Gravity Manipulation? This chap's special ability is gravity manipulation! Holy moly, this is a terrific special ability! Not to mention, it complements my Earth-element Arcana well!

Ling Jiu could not have been more excited.

He had replicated Earth Manipulation, Shadowing, and other special abilities over the past six months.

With the exception of Earth Manipulation, he could not use Shadowing and the other special abilities on a whim. He was worried that others might find out and associate them with his special ability of replication.

However, it was a different story with Gravity Arcana. He was not afraid of being found out because it belonged to the Earth-element Arcana.

In fact, many Earth-element Arcanists would naturally acquire the Gravity Arcana once they reached the pinnacle of the Earth-element Arcana.

I am of the Earth-element Arcana. Even if I demonstrate the Gravity Arcana, no one is going to suspect me of my replication ability but think that it's just a natural ability that comes with the Earth-element Arcana.

With that thought in mind, Ling Jiu quietly replicated Fu Changan's Gravity Arcana. After some pleasantries, he left.

He wanted to find a relatively inconspicuous and safe place to assimilate the Gravity Arcana so that he would have one more ability up his sleeve.

What came in abundance in the county city were shops and residential buildings. Ling Jiu quickly found a safe and inconspicuous place.

Half an hour later, Ling Jiu was back on the street, resuming his hunt for the Direbeasts as if nothing had happened before.

There were many Direbeasts hiding around the place, but most of them were Class 1 Direbeasts.

With Ling Jiu's current strength, those Class-1 Direbeasts were no match for him. He killed a dozen Direbeasts along the way.

"Caijiapo Zoo!"

Ling Jiu ended up in front of a zoo. Hearing a heated fight, he followed the sound and arrived to see a group of people attacking a giant alligator-type Direbeast.

The ten-meter-long alligator-type Direbeast looked like a van.

Lumpy and hard scales covered its back, and one-meter-long spikes grew on both sides of its ribs. The Direbeast appeared extremely hideous.

"It's an Ironspike Gator, a Class 2 Direbeast!"

Ling Jiu immediately recognized the alligator. "These guys have guts! Aren't they afraid of that Class 2 Direbeast?"

As Ling Jiu pondered about it, he looked at those who were attacking the Ironspike Gator. It startled him to see Li Kai among them.

"Why is Li mingling with these people?" Ling Jiu furrowed his brows.

Li Kai aside, the other guys looked older. One was even a middle-aged man. If he was not mistaken, these people were either the Arcanists who had awakened independently or the rejected from the previous years.

Li Kai was with them?

"Come on, guys! This beast is getting weaker now!" a young man dressed in a sports suit shouted as he leveled up his attack.

He was a Fire-element Arcanist. His Fire-type abilities looked impressive with a fire spear, fire blade, fireball, and fire bullets at his fingertips. Plus, his range of attack was over three meters.

Apparently, he was a Level 2 Arcanist.

Report chapter

Chapter 13: Watching the Show, Gravity Arcana

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"I knew it! They are Level 2 Arcanists!"

Ling Jiu raised his guard. Although Level 1 and 2 Arcanists were of lower-ranked arcanists, their combat strengths were like night and day.

A Level 2 Arcanist's internal strength and mastery of special abilities were not things that a Level 1 Arcanist could rival.

In simple words, a Level 2 Arcanist could defeat ten Level 1 Arcanists. Their difference was akin to special forces and ordinary folk; they were not in the same league.

"Done!"

Their combined effort finally killed off the Ironspike Gator. The young man in the sports suit went up to the direbeast with a triumphant smile. "Thank you for your help, everyone!"

"You're welcome!"

A middle-aged man approached him. "We had a deal; you promised to give every one of us two Class 1 direbeast hearts as a reward after we help you kill the Ironspike Gator. It's time for you to fulfill your promise!"

Others also began to go up to him.

"Indeed, I said that before!"

The young man in the sports suit curled his lips in an evil smile. "But I've changed my mind now. Instead of giving you two direbeast hearts each, all of you have to hand over the direbeast hearts in your possession! Otherwise, don't say that I didn't give you a chance!"

"You've duped us into this!"

Everyone became furious and glared at him.

"I managed to dupe all of you only because you were all dumb. I can't believe that you're all still talking about promises!"

The young man in the sports suit sneered, "All of you have almost exhausted your Gene Arcana, haven't you? But I still have half of mine left. How can you beat me?"

"You scumbag!"

Li Kai and the others gritted their teeth, but the young man in the sports suit was a Level 2 Arcanist. He was much more powerful than them. They had exhausted their Gene Arcana in their fight with the Ironspike Gator and could no longer battle the young man.

"You better hand over the direbeast hearts now before my patience runs out!"

The young man in the sports suit waved his hand and summoned fire walls to encircle everyone.

"What are you trying to do?"

Feeling the scorching heat of the fire, their faces collapsed as they became disheartened.

"Give me the direbeast hearts now!" the young man in the sports suit said faintly. "Otherwise, no one can even think of leaving!"

"Killing fellow Arcanists is prohibited during the test. Are you going to break the rules?" Everyone glared at him.

"Killing is prohibited, of course, but there is no rule that says I can't cripple all of you!"

The young man in the sports suit broke into a defiant smile. "Do all of you know what it means by crippling?"

"How could you? Let's fight him!"

They were enraged. However, before they could make their move, several fire spears jutted out and held their legs back.

"Hand over the direbeast hearts if all of you don't want to become cripples!" The young man in the sports suit smiled. "Or else, I will have no choice but to turn you into such!"

Feeling the searing heat travel up their legs, they knew what the fire spears could do to them.

The young man in the sports suit could make the fire spears penetrate their thighs and cause them to become cripples with a mere thought. They could never accept that eventuality no matter what.

They did not want to become cripples on the first day of the test. They were not ready to be disqualified but wanted to continue the assessment for another two days.

"Fine! You got us this time!"

At last, they could only hand over their direbeast hearts despite how angry they were.

They admitted defeat.

"That's more like it!"

The young man in the sports suit was pleased with their decision as he kept all the direbeast hearts to himself. "All of you can get out of my sight now!"

Unbeknownst to the young man in the sports suit, the surveillance cameras on a building had captured his every move and action.

The representatives from different Arcana organizations saw the footage and could not help but shake their heads and sigh.

"That guy is awful!"

"He is, but rules are rules! This is nothing compared to what's going to happen on the third day!"

"That guy looks familiar. I think I've seen him before!"

"His name is Fei Zhe. He's one of last year's rejected!"

"You know him, Bai Yang?"

"How could I not know him when I've taught him for six months last year?"

"Oh, he is the rejected one from your company, Pangu!"

"Look, another person!"

They all shifted their attention on the monitor.

Li Kai and the others gritted their teeth as they could not do anything except watch the young man in the sports suit take away their direbeast hearts. Just as they were about to leave, a teasing voice rang out. "I can't believe that I've stumbled on such an exciting moment!"

"Who is it?"

They all looked in the voice's direction and saw a smart-looking teen appear out of the corner. When Li Kai saw the person's face, he was delighted. "Ling!"

"This a humiliating moment for you, Li!" Ling Jiu teased.

"That guy's a Level 2 Arcanist, mind you! We are not his match!" Li Kai scowled at the young man in the sports suit, indignation filling his eyes.

"Don't worry! I will avenge you!"

Ling Jiu gave Li Kai an assuring look, then he turned to the young man in the sports suit. "How about you return the direbeast hearts to them for my sake, friend?"

"You? Who do you think you are?"

Fei Zhe looked at Ling Jiu as if he was a ret*rd. "I thought you were a pragmatic person, but apparently, you're an idiot! Listen, give me your direbeast hearts too, or else, I'd be happy to turn you into an idiot for real!"

"You want my direbeast hearts?"

Ling Jiu wore a faint smile as he took the dimensional pocket off his waist and dropped it to the ground. "Here they are. You can come and get them!"

"That's more like it!"

Fei Zhe smirked and went up to him, ready to pick the dimensional pocket up. Righ then, an overpowering pressure fell on him, causing him to lose his balance.

"Sh*t! It's Gravity Arcana!"

Fei Zhe recognized what it was and quickly bounced back. The Gravity Arcana could do no harm to him as long as he stayed outside its field of influence.

Yet, what happened next told Fei Zhe that he was too naïve. An even more powerful force of gravity fell on him, contorting his body.

Retreat?

It was too late.

With a snap of Ling Jiu's fingers, the ground under Fei Zhe's feet turned into quicksand. Fei Zhe's legs sank into it, stopping only when the quicksand buried his entire legs.

Immediately after, the quicksand solidified into normal ground again, trapping Fei Zhe on the spot.

"So much for a Level 2 Arcanist!"

Report chapter

Chapter 14: Class 1 Direbeast, the Sableback Gorilla

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"This-This is Gravity Arcana?"

"Damn! As far as I know, this kid is an Earth-element Arcanist. How did he possess the Gravity Arcana?"

"Exactly! Only Level 6 Earth-element Arcanists can acquire Gravity Arcana. This kid is just at Level 2, yet he can already manipulate gravity?"

"There is only one possibility: this kid's Earth-element Arcana contains the Gravity Arcana."

In the monitoring center outside the county city, the eyes of a group of leaders from the Arcana Organizations were glued to the monitor screen. It showed the footage of Ling Jiu subduing Fei Zhe.

"Soil and rock control, as well as gravity manipulation; both seem to be of Earth-element Arcana. In reality, he has awakened two special abilities. What a lucky one!"

A handsome young man could not help but gasp in admiration. "This kid's potential is as good as that of the rare Double-Arcana geniuses!"

"Absolutely!"

Others nodded in agreement. Double-Arcanists had two awakened special abilities. Having one more special ability naturally gave them an advantage over ordinary Arcanists.

"Where is this kid from?"

The handsome young man was thinking about poaching Ling Jiu over to his company. He would receive a handsome reward if he could persuade a genius like that to join them.

"What? Are you thinking of poaching my man?"

Instructor Bai Yang shot him a sideways glance.

"He's from Pangu?"

The handsome young man smiled. "You must be messing with me, Bai Yang. How dare I poach Pangu's men?"

"You better not!"

"So much for a Level 2 Arcanist!"

Ling Jiu walked up to the young man in the sports suit, his voice filled with scorn.

"All right, you got me this time!" Fei Zhe looked dead upset. "What do you want?"

"To give you a taste of your own medicine!"

Ling Jiu took away Fei Zhe's dimensional pocket. "They helped you kill the Ironspike Gator, but instead of fulfilling your promise, you robbed them of their direbeast hearts. You are trash!"

"Stop pretending!"

Fei Zhe hissed. "You would have done the same thing if you had been in my shoes!"

"Ahh, you just reminded me!"

Ling Jiu raised his eyebrows and passed the dimensional pocket to Li Kai. "Take your direbeast hearts, Li!"

"Umm… all right! Thanks, Ling!"

Li Kai was a bit hesitant at first. He took back the direbeast hearts that belonged to him in the end because his test would be affected without them. It was not the time to be pretentious.

"Hey, mate, thanks for beating this bastard and taking back the direbeast hearts for us! We can't thank you enough!" the others said.

"Thank me? That won't be necessary!"

Ling Jiu shot them a sideways look, then pointed at Fei Zhe. "I didn't help you get back the direbeast hearts. They're all mine now!"

The middle-aged man and the others felt frustrated about being robbed by a douchebag only to be followed by a mugger.

It was a freaking bad day.

"Let's go, Li!"

Ling Jiu kept the direbeast hearts and brought Li Kai into the zoo, where many powerful direbeasts roamed.

Sure enough, they bumped into a giant black gorilla, whose muscles looked like a wall of steel.

"It's a Class 2 direbeast, a Sableback Gorilla!"

Li Kai's expression collapsed. "This is a Class 2 direbeast, Ling. Should we go around it?"

"Why should we? A Class 2 direbeast heart is worth ten Class 1 direbeast hearts. Don't waste this opportunity!" Ling Jiu licked his lips.

"But are we its match?"

Li Kai looked at the muscular Sableback Gorilla and was thinking about beating a hasty retreat. They had killed an Ironspike Gator earlier only because of their numerical strength.

More importantly, the Ironspike Gator had left the lake, which meant that it could not fight as well as it would in the water. It was due to this advantage that they managed to surround and kill the gator.

However, fighting this Sableback Gorilla was a different story; the land was its natural habitat, and there were only the two of them. Could they really take on and beat this thing? Li Kai doubted it.

"Don't worry! Watch me!"

Ling Jiu smiled confidently as he moved toward the Sableback Gorilla.

The Sableback Gorilla spotted Ling Jiu at once, its dark-brown eyes flashing with viciousness. It roared, and ear-shattering sound waves hit him like a hammer pounding his eardrums.

The direbeast pounded its chest while a ferocious energy permeated the air.

"Shut the f*ck up!"

Ling Jiu pressed down on it with a horrible force of gravity. The Sableback Gorilla staggered a bit and took the gravitational force with its powerful body.

Next, still resisting the force of gravity on its back, it swung its fist, punching through the air at Ling Jiu with a loud sonic boom.

My gosh! This thing can still react this fast under the high pressure of gravity. It could have flown into space without the gravity!

It shocked Ling Jiu to see the Sableback Gorilla's might. He quickly summoned an earthen wall to block the attack.

Following after, he slammed his hand onto the ground, and the earth turned into quicksand, sucking the Sableback Gorilla's legs in.

The Sableback Gorilla struggled to pull itself out of the quicksand.

At that moment, a huge rock came out of nowhere and hit the Sableback Gorilla on the head like a cannon.

The Sableback Gorilla lost its balance and stumbled back into the quicksand.

Li Kai had made his move.

"Good job, bro!" Ling Jiu praised.

He invoked an even more violent gravitational force on the Sableback Gorilla, forcing the creature to sink deeper into the quicksand. Li Kai summoned more rock shots and repeatedly hit the Sableback Gorilla on the head.

At last, the two joined hands and forced the Sableback Gorilla to sink halfway into the quicksand. Next, the quicksand changed its form.

In just a moment, the loose quicksand returned to solid ground, trapping the giant Sableback Gorilla in the ground with only its head exposed on the surface.

"We did it, bro!"

Li Kai was overjoyed.

"It's still too early to celebrate!"

Ling Jiu shook his head before he summoned a huge rock and hit the Sableback Gorilla mercilessly.

Dush!

The rock shot hit the direbeast on the head and smashed its skull, splattering white and red brain matter all over the place. The Sableback Gorilla could not have been more dead now.

"Phew! Done!"

Ling Jiu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bro, have we just killed the Sableback Gorilla?" Li Kai was in disbelief.

"What do you think?"

Ling Jiu smiled and took out five direbeast hearts from his dimensional pocket. "Here you go, bro. These five direbeast hearts are yours now. I'll take the Sableback Gorilla's heart!"

"No, no, no! That's too much!"

Li Kai declined. "I was just helping while you were the one who killed the Sableback Gorilla. I'll take two of them!"

"Take all of them. You deserve it!"

Ling Jiu shoved the five direbeast hearts into Li Kai's dimensional pocket. Just as he walked toward the Sableback Gorilla, a lackadaisical voice was heard.

Report chapter

Chapter 15: Speed-type Arcanist, Meeting His Nemesis

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Not half bad! He's a great fighter in the making!"

"Had he participated in the previous year, this kid would have made it into the top three. But it won't be so easy this year!"

"Absolutely. There's a mix of candidates this year. Although they are the rejected, they have practiced for at least a year, and you mustn't underestimate their abilities!"

"Whatever. Pangu has a talented recruit, of which I'm envious!"

Their praise flattered Bai Yang, who felt proud because he was Ling Jiu's instructor.

"Look! Someone else has appeared again! I can't believe that it's him. Things seem to grow more interesting by the minute!"

After Ling Jiu cut open the Sableback Gorilla's chest and gouged out the heart, a lackadaisical voice rang out.

"Thank you for helping me kill it!"

"Who is it?"

Ling Jiu stopped what he was doing and spun around with Li Kai in unison as an unkempt young man approached them.

He was wearing a vest and short pants with a pair of sandals on his feet. He had tired eyes and appeared extremely listless.

"What? You want to snatch the prey from a tiger's mouth?"

Li Kai did not look too friendly.

"Snatch it is, but not necessarily from a tiger!"

The lackadaisical young man yawned and opened his tired eyes. "You mean you two are tigers? Is that a joke?"

"I see. You're trying to rob us, aren't you?"

"Rob? Hell no! Don't use that word! I just want to take what belongs to me in the first place!"

The lackadaisical young man raised a hand. "Cut the cackle. Hand over your dimensional pockets and get out of my sight!"

"What if I don't comply?" Ling Jiu sneered.

"I'll see how stubborn you can get!"

The lackadaisical young man stepped out, and the next second, he was right in front of Ling Jiu, staring him in the eye. The young man curled his lips in a faint smile, then a thud followed.

The next moment, Ling Jiu felt an excruciating pain rip through his abdomen as a force sent him flying backward.

"Bro!"

Li Kai was shocked, but before he knew it, the lackadaisical young man had appeared before him. A side kick sent him flying backward as well.

"Loser!"

Looking at Ling Jiu and Li Kai, who had been sent tumbling, the lackadaisical young man yawned again.

That was freaking quick!

Ling Jiu's heart skipped a beat. He must be using a Speed-type Arcana, a rare combat-type special ability. If I replicate it…

"Don't make me repeat myself!" The lackadaisical young man looked at the both of them.

"Not half bad, huh? Speed-type Arcana! But you can dream on if you're thinking about snatching the dimensional pocket from me!"

Ling Jiu's mouth twitched, and he looked at the young man provocatively. "Come and get it if you dare!"

"We shall see!"

The lackadaisical young man hissed and went up to Ling Jiu in a flash again. His movements were so quick that he left an afterimage of himself behind him.

Before the lackadaisical young man could make his next move, an overpowering pressure fell on him, causing him to stagger on his feet.

"Now's the time!"

Ling Jiu would not miss the opportunity. He grabbed the air and summoned a large piece of rock.

Bang!

Debris flew all over the place. The lackadaisical young man screamed in agony as the blow nearly broke his ribs.

However, that did not stop Ling Jiu's attack; he turned the ground into quicksand that swallowed the lackadaisical young man, trapping him in the ground.

Ling Jiu breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Li Kai. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!"

Li Kai covered his foot-printed face. "This guy's quick, but his strength is ordinary. That kick of his couldn't hurt me!"

"Great!"

Ling Jiu nodded. He then made his way toward the lackadaisical young man. "I knew how it felt when you tried to rob us, but what a shame, you're too weak!"

"You possess Gravity Arcana!"

The lackadaisical young man had a grim look. "You got me this time! But don't feel too triumphant yet; there are still two more days of the assessment to go. If you want to play, I'll play along!"

"Do you really think you still have a chance?"

Ling Jiu smirked. "Your Speed-type Arcana is unusual. Coupled with the fact that you are a Level 2 Arcanist, not many Arcanists are your match. So, for the sake of the lucrative reward, a strong contender like you should drop out of the race as soon as possible!"

"What are you trying to do?"

The lackadaisical young man's expression changed. "I'm warning you, killing fellow Arcanists is prohibited in the test. If you kill me, you'll be disqualified too!"

"Kill you? How I wish I could!" Ling Jiu rolled his eyes. "But I'm not ready to be disqualified yet. So, I have to apologize for your legs!"

"No-No, you can't do that!"

It terrified the lackadaisical young man to think about losing his legs. He could only perform the Speed-type Arcana because of his legs. If something happened to them, he would surely fail the assessment.

"I'm sincerely sorry. This may be very cruel to you, but I can't help it. We're talking about the assessment here!" Ling Jiu shook his head and grabbed the air with his right hand.

The lackadaisical young man felt his legs twisting, and it was followed by a loud crackle. He then screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

Ling Jiu released him from the ground, but his legs were completely deformed.

"I'm sorry, man! I have not only broken your legs but I have also taken your dimensional pocket. If you're not happy with it, come and hit me!"

Ling Jiu sneered as he took the dimensional pocket from the lackadaisical young man and left with Li Kai.

The lackadaisical young man gritted his teeth and wept like a baby as he looked at his deformed legs and thought of his dimensional pocket. He had initially thought of marauding this gang of robbers. Little did he expect that things would end up this way for him.

"Help me, Sir! I give up! Come and get me now. I'm in danger!"

"This guy really had a bad day!"

"Absolutely! Before lower-ranked Arcanists master their special abilities, a Speed-type Arcanist is definitely at an advantage and can easily defeat the rookies. Unfortunately, he met a Gravity Arcanist!"

"The Gravity Arcana got this guy's Speed Arcana by the balls. All I can say is, he had bad luck!"

"This poor guy bumped into Teleportation Arcana last year, then Gravity Arcana this year. He's been ousted two years in a row. I really don't know—"

"All right! Which of you are going to collect him before the Direbeast eats him for dinner?"

"I'll go!"

Chapter 16: Slaughtering the Wolf Pack, Lionization Arcana

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After they got rid of the lackadaisical young man, Ling Jiu and Li Kai parted. As the rule of the assessment did not encourage team-forming, it was better for them to split up.

Ling Jiu was very ambitious. His goal was not to just pass the test but to make it into the top three as well. He could not afford to get his score dragged down because he was working in a team.

He continued to venture deeper into the zoo.

Inside the zoo were many powerful Direbeasts. After killing the Ironspike Gator and Sableback Gorilla, he encountered a few more Direbeasts, most of which were Class 1 and easily killed.

Soon, he came to a woodland. A pack of wolf-type Direbeasts was hungrily gnawing the corpse of another Direbeast.

These giant wolves were four meters long each. Their silverish white mane looked like steel needles growing on their backs, and the claws on their paws glinted in the light.

"Class 1 Direbeast, the Silverclaw Wolf!"

Ling Jiu knew what beasts these wolves were, and he sneaked over.

These Silverclaw Wolves were Class 1 Direbeasts, but there were many of them. So, Ling Jiu figured that the best way was to catch them unawares. He would have to get close to do that.

As a Level 2 Arcanist, Ling Jiu's attack range was about ten meters, beyond which Arcana manipulation would become less effective.

So he had to get within ten meters from his targets.

However, Ling Jiu had underestimated the Silverclaw Wolves. Before he could get close to them, one Silverclaw Wolf that had been tasked as the lookout spotted him.

With one long howl into the air, the other Silverclaw Wolves stopped eating and looked over.

They were growling menacingly, their silverish claws glinting with warning and murderous vibes.

They just wanted to carry on eating their meal and had no intention of going after Ling Jiu. As long as Ling Jiu left them alone, they would not attack.

Sadly, things did not always turn out as they wished. Instead of going away, Ling Jiu was edging closer and closer.

The Silverclaw Wolves howled and charged at Ling Jiu since his actions had agitated them. As they got closer, they suddenly split up and worked as a team by surrounding Ling Jiu at the center.

It was the wolves' typical hunting technique. A single Silverclaw Wolf was weak, but they could kill a Class 2 Direbeast when they hunted in a pack.

Yet, no matter how clever their plan was, they were just a bunch of paper tigers in front of a being with absolutely superior strength.

Just as the wolf pack inched closer toward Ling Jiu, they felt a horrible force pressing down on them. They struggled to move as their bodies contorted.

Next, sharp earthen spikes jutted out of the ground and hit the Silverclaw Wolves.

As the spikes pierced through their paws, hind legs, and bellies, the Silverclaw Wolves whined in agony.

"Again!"

With a wave of his hand, Ling Jiu summoned a dozen stone spears to pierce through their bodies and nail them dead to the ground.

"Done!"

He snapped his fingers.

"That's the superiority of an Arcanist with dual special abilities! Using the Gravity Arcana for a surprise attack, followed by an Earth-element Arcana attack—it is just too lethal!"

"This kid is talented! It's a shame that he has joined Pangu. Hmm, maybe it's all about the penalty for breach of contract."

Many team leaders from the Arcana organizations coveted this talented teenager. They were all thinking of poaching him.

Instructor Bai Yang was feeling the pressure. He knew that these guys were eyeing Ling Jiu. He could almost imagine that the better Ling Jiu performed, the more they would covet him.

Ling Jiu has only signed a C-level contract with the company, and the contract termination fee is only a million. If other companies really wanted him, they could easily convince him to jump ship.

Bai Yang's heart skipped a beat when he thought of this. I have to inform Luo Jia.

Ling Jiu had absolutely no idea that he had attracted the attention of different Arcana organizations. After he harvested a dozen Silverclaw Wolf hearts, he continued his journey.

Time flew, and two days had passed.

The Direbeasts have seemingly disappeared from the county city after two days of hunting. I should probably watch out for other contenders; they have been in a frenzy lately!

Lin Jiu was sitting in front of the window on the 29th floor of an apartment and eating freshly grilled barbeque while enjoying the scenery outside.

The assessment had progressed to the ultimate stage. Whether they could pass the test and what position they would achieve depended on how they could make use of the second half of the day.

Hence, everyone was in a frenzy.

Robbery had become common, and getting robbed was also just as common.

To avoid this madness, many candidates had gone into hiding just like him.

I wonder if my harvest is good enough to get me into the top three. Ling Jiu thought to himself.

He was determined to make it into the top three by hook or by crook. Be it the intermediate Gene Arcana secret teqnique, a million bucks in monthly pay, or a mansion, he wanted them all.

Half an hour later, Ling Jiu finished his lunch and took a brief rest before he continued to scan the surroundings. He became notorious because he had robbed too many people during the past two days. People would avoid him like a plague when they spotted him from afar.

So robbery had become more difficult. Ling Jiu could only lie in wait for his prey to show up.

He suddenly heard a fight in the distance. He spied in the sound's direction and saw a few Arcanists fighting on top of a building.

"That's an opportunity!"

Ling Jiu quickly ran in that direction.

"He must have collected many Direbeast hearts. Defeat him, and we'll take all of his harvests! Guys, let's do it!"

Four Arcanists were fighting a lion man.

With the head, claws, tail, and fur of a lion and the body of a human, the lion man could stand on two, much like the lion man in mythology.

However, this figure was not a lion man but an Arcanist with a lionization ability.

The lionization special ability belonged to Shapeshift-type Arcana. Once the Arcanist shapeshifted, he or she would have the power, speed, and offensive abilities of a lion.

The four attackers comprised of a Fire-element Arcanist, a Water-element Arcanist, a Wood-element Arcanist, and a Soundwave Arcanist.

These four Arcanists were powerful, and they had tacit coordination with each other. Yet, they were still no match for the lion man.

The lion man was agile, and he could easily dodge the attacks from the Fire-element, Water-element, and Wood-element Arcanists. Only the Soundwave Arcanist could pose some problems to him.

"Attack me? All of you have walked into my trap. I purposely exposed my hiding place to lure idiots like you so that I could take your harvests!"

The lion man burst into laughter as he appeared before the Wood-element Arcanist in a flash and struck him with his claws.

He was too fast. Before the Wood-element Arcanist knew it, he was hit in the chest. Blood spurted out of his mouth while he was sent tumbling back.

"One!"

The lion man sped toward the Water-element Arcanist. Fear and desperation filled his eyes as the lion claws struck him.

The blow sent the Water-element Arcanist flying backward.

"Not good!"

"Run!"

It shocked the Fire-element and Soundwave Arcanists to see how powerful the lion man was. They were thinking about running away, but it was still too little, too late.

Bang!

Bang!

The Fire-element and Soundwave Arcanists became airborne at the sound of two bangs.

"Done!"

The lion man clapped his hands with delight. Anyone who had reached that stage would have either lost everything or collected a lot of Direbeast hearts.

If those four Arcanists possessed any Direbeast hearts, it would be in a large quantity. His tactic of lying in wait was paying off big time now.

Report chapter

Chapter 17: Lure Fishing, Counting the Harvest

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Who is this guy? He's savage!"

"Luo Nan, one of last year's rejected candidates!"

"Last year? No wonder he's this good!"

The battle between Lion Man Luo Nan and the four Arcanists had attracted the attention of other contenders. While the two sides were fighting, others were watching from a distance, trying to play the role of the third dog that runs away with the bone in the form of the Direbeast hearts. When they saw how puissant Luo Nan was, however, they were disheartened.

That strategy would not work if one side was a tiger, and the other was a sheep. The third dog would most likely end up with a bad day.

"Thirty-nine hearts! Not half bad!

"This guy has twenty-eight!

"I've hit the jackpot!"

Luo Nan was ecstatic. He obtained 120 Direbeast hearts from the four Arcanists, which was more than he had expected.

"We'll make sure that you get your comeuppance, bastard!"

It reduced them to tears when the lion man took away their Direbeast hearts, which had taken them a great deal of effort to harvest.

They would surely fail the assessment this time.

"Oh, yeah? Say that to the recruits next year! All of you have no chance this year!"

Luo Nan sneered, brushing off the threat that those four Arcanists made. He had made the same threat last year, and it did not end well for him.

Others had passed the test while he was disqualified.

So, barking and whining were useless.

"You a*hole!"

Luo Nan disappeared from the dilapidated streets. After his first success, he wanted to find another location to carry out another lure fishing.

He came to an abandoned shop and started to take a nap, making himself look as if he was hiding and sleeping there. He snored loudly to attract attention.

The snore was his fishing lure.

Luo Nan believed that he would surely lure some fish to him.

This guy looks like he's all brawn and no brain, but in reality, he's a sneaky bugger. Can't judge a book by its cover!

Ling Jiu had no words for it as he peeked at Luo Nan, who was feigning his sleep, from behind the shop's glass window.

Wolves were not frightening. A wolf in sheep's clothing was more terrifying. The assessment was almost coming to an end, and everyone was thinking about getting as many Direbeast hearts as possible by robbing others so that they could achieve excellent results.

Setting up a simple trap could lure a bunch of unsuspecting people at this time. Luo Nan's ingenious idea was far more effective than looking for victims by roaming around aimlessly.

Ling Jiu kicked the shop's door open and stormed in.

"Eh?"

Luo Nan opened his eyes abruptly, feeling groggy. It had only been less than two minutes into his nap, and a prey had already walked into his trap. What a lucky day, he thought.

He bounced up and looked at Ling Jiu with a faint smile. "You want my Direbeast hearts?"

"Of course!"

Saying nothing else, Ling Jiu utilized his Gravity Arcana on Luo Nan, forcing him to stagger on his feet.

Next, a large piece of stone slate flew straight at his face.

"Sh*t!"

Luo Nan's expression collapsed. He quickly ducked, trying to avoid the stone slate, but he suddenly felt the pressure on him disappear. Even the force of gravity was gone, and his body floated up involuntarily.

Bang!

The stone slate hit him so hard that he started to see stars. Next, stone slates in the surrounding rose in the air and rushed toward him.

In just the blink of an eye, the stone slates piled on him. He struggled to get away with all his strength, but it was useless. The weight of the stone slates and gravitational force set him in place, nearly pressing the air out of his lungs.

"You… bastard!"

Luo Nan was as desperate as he was furious.

"How could the fish that nibbles at every bait not get caught, eh?"

Ling Jiu shook his head slightly. "Besides, you were overconfident. Luring your victims would have landed you in trouble soon or later!"

"How did you know that?"

Luo Nan was startled.

"I was watching you from a distance while you were robbing the four Arcanists!"

Ling Jiu reached out to take Luo Nan's dimensional pocket, then he tipped the Direbeast hearts out.

"Tsk, tsk! How many poor chaps have you robbed to get so many Direbeast hearts, eh?" Ling Jiu was in awe.

"Kid, if you dare to take my Direbeast hearts, I won't let you go unpunished!"

Luo Nan was desperate. These Direbeast hearts were necessary for him to pass the assessment. He would surely fail if Ling Jiu took them all.

"You won't let me go unpunished? You should tell this to the rookies next year. You don't have a chance this year!"

Ling Jiu repeated what Luo Nan said to the four Arcanists earlier. Luo Nan felt shame and anger, almost on the brink of getting a heart attack.

"That's it, goodbye!"

Ling Jiu kept all of the Direbeast hearts inside his dimensional pocket and left the shop under Luo Nan's watchful, murderous eyes.

Ling Jiu started to do what Luo Nan did, hiding in an abandoned shop and pretending to take a nap with a loud snore to lure his victims.

The trick worked surprisingly well, as three groups of people eventually walked into the trap, and Ling Jiu obtained vast quantities of plunder. A loud siren blared through the sky above the county city at noon. It was a signal that told him the assessment had ended.

"Phew! It's finally over!"

"Damn! It ended so quickly!"

The rookies breathed a sigh of relief. Some were indignant, while others were nonchalant when they heard the siren and came out of hiding.

Lantian Base City.

Unit A-35, Great Tang Residences.

Ling Tianci and Ling Xiaotong were sitting on the sofa, staring at the LED TV Screen that had a live telecast of the situation outside Caijiapo County City.

"Liu Bowen, 14 points!"

"Wang Jun, 21 points!"

"Dong Tiantian, 41 points!

"Wang Jiabao, 41 points!"

Recruits came out of the county city as the personnel from The Arcanist Directorate counted the harvest quantities.

A Class 1 Direbeast's heart was worth one point.

A Class 2 Direbeast's heart was worth 10 points.

There was a huge difference between the heart of a Class 1 and Class 2 Direbeast, which was easy to tell.

The media responsible for filming the event was telecasting the event to thousands of homes in Lantian Base City.

"Do you think Brother will pass the assessment, Dad?" Ling Xiaotong looked tense.

"He surely will! He's my son!"

Ling Tianci was anxious too. The test concerned his son's future, so he could not say that he was not nervous.

The bosses and leaders of various Arcana organizations were watching the live telecast too. They were concerned about the results of the assessment.

Luo Jia from Pangu Arcana Combine was one of them. The recruits might still be greenhorns, but they were the future of the company, which needed to train new blood to replenish and grow the organization.

"Bai Yang says Ling Jiu has done very well and has high hopes of getting the number one position."

There was a hint of anticipation in Luo Jia's eyes.

"Gao Yong, seven points!"

"Wang Jixiang, zero points!

"Zero?"

"Yet another poor guy!"

As the time ticked by, the recruits gradually exited the county city and received their results. Some were overjoyed with their outstanding achievements, while some were in dismay due to their poor performances.

Ling Jiu had also come out.

"Look, Dad! It's Brother!"

"That rascal's finally out!"

Chapter 18: Poaching, A Contract

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"It's Ling Jiu. He's coming out!"

"That a*hole took all of my harvests, damn it!"

"He's come out at last!"

Seeing Ling Jiu emerge, the team leaders from various Arcana combines, the media, and those whom he had robbed, all had their eyes on him.

"You're finally out, bro!"

Li Kai and Wang Jiabao stepped forth to receive him at once.

"How did you guys do? Did you two pass the assessment?" Ling Jiu asked with a smile.

"I got 56, and Wang Jiabao got 41!"

Li Kai could not hide his excitement. "Judging from Instructor Bai Yang's tone, our results should be good enough to pass!"

"Congratulations!" Ling Jiu smiled.

"Yeah, it's something really worth celebrating!"

Li Kai was so happy that he was almost in tears. Passing the assessment meant that he could continue to stay in Pangu Arcana Combine, which was something he had been looking forward to.

"What about you, Ling Jiu? Did you get a fabulous catch?" Wang Jiabao was curious. "I heard from Li Kai that you could kill Class 2 Direbeasts and you're a Level 2 Arcanist now. With all those abilities, you must have collected a lot of Direbeast hearts."

"I did all right!"

Ling Jiu smiled before he went up to a staff and handed over his dimensional pocket.

The staff tipped out the Direbeast hearts, which were so many that he had to take several steps back to make room for them.

"Seriously, that many?"

"How many Direbeasts did he kill?"

People were shocked to see the entire floor of Direbeast hearts. No one had collected as many Direbeast hearts as Ling Jiu so far.

A few staff members came up to help with the counting. Then, they announced the result, "Five-hundred and sixty Class 1 Direbeast hearts, and nineteen Class 2 Direbeast hearts. That comes to a total of 750 points!"

Everyone was in awe.

"Over seven hundred points? Is he human?"

"We were struggling to even make it past a hundred, yet he's collected over seven-hundred points! This is not on a human level anymore!"

People looked at Ling Jiu like he was a monster. Such a result was just obscenely off the charts, leaving other candidates in the dust.

"I knew you would get a good result, bro. But I never expected that it would be this good: seven hundred and fifty points!"

Li Kai looked at Ling Jiu in disbelief. "You just blew me out of the water!"

"He just outran everyone else!" Wang Jiabao exclaimed.

"Brother has gotten 750 points, Dad!"

Ling Xiaotong jumped up in excitement, admiration filling her face. "He has obtained the number one position; he's so awesome!"

"I'm proud of you, Son!"

Ling Tianci's eyes reddened with emotions.

Pangu Arcana Combine.

"This kid isn't half bad at all!"

Luo Jia, the general manager of Pangu, took out her mobile phone to call the Legal department with a smile on her face. "Draft a new A contract for me…"

"Ling Jiu!"

A handsome young man walked up to Ling Jiu and offered his hand. "Hello, Ling Jiu. My name is Wang Zhen, and I'm an instructor from Vulcan Arcana Combine."

"Nice to meet you, Instructor Wang!"

Ling Jiu held out his hand and greeted him.

"You have become a Level 2 Arcanist in just a short span of six months, Ling Jiu. You must have been working very hard. What impresses me is your double special abilities of earth and gravity manipulation. You are a brilliant talent!"

Wang Zhen, the handsome young man, grinned. "On behalf of Vulcan Arcana Combine, I would like to invite you to join us!"

Li Kai and Wang Jiabao looked on with envy; only outstanding candidates would get such an outright offer.

The fact that the Vulcan instructor poached Ling Jiu in front of everyone showed how impressive Ling Jiu was—so much so that the Vulcan instructor did not bother to keep things discreet.

Other companies were eyeing such talent too, but they were not confident enough to compete with Pangu and Vulcan. They knew that they could not compete.

"How did you get the nerve to poach my man in front of us, Wang Zhen?" Instructor Bai Yang came over with an unfriendly expression on his face.

"Talents are fair game!"

Wang Zhen simply did not give a hoot about what Bai Yang said. "Vulcan will not want to miss such a talent like Ling Jiu. Besides, he has only signed a contract with Pangu. He hasn't signed his life away to you, so he has every right to join Vulcan."

"You want to poach our man? First show me what you've got!"

Instructor Bai Yang hissed, then he looked at Ling Jiu. "General Manager Luo Jia and I were on the phone just now. She said that she's very pleased with your outstanding performance in this assessment and you totally deserve an A-level contract. You can sign the contract as soon as you get back!"

"Thank you, Instructor and General Manager Luo!"

Ling Jiu was elated.

An A-level contract offered a million-dollar pay per month, an intermediate Gene Arcana secret technique, a bungalow, and a 30% discount in shopping, which was so much better than the current C-level contract.

"It's so stingy of you to buy a talent with only an A-level contract!"

Wang Zheng scoffed. "I'll get you an A contract if you join Vulcan, Ling Jiu!"

"An A contract?"

It stunned Ling Jiu to hear that. An A contract was basically an A-level contract with some upscale adjustments.

Higher pay, advanced instead of intermediate Gene Arcana secret techniques, as well as other benefits and perks, were among the upscale adjustments.

All in all, an A contract was slightly better than an A-level contract, but not by much. It was still incomparable to the higher S-level contract.

"You are being a cutthroat in this competition, Wang Zhen!"

Bai Yang was furious.

"It's not so much of a cutthroat competition but that we at Vulcan value talent!"

Wang Zhen shook his head. "You should know what it means when we offer you an A contract, Ling Jiu. Our general manager made this offer because she holds you in high regard!"

"I understand!"

Ling Jiu nodded. With great power came great responsibility and benefits too. Different classes of Arcanists enjoyed different benefits and perks, a rule that everyone strictly adhered to.

Generally, a Level 1 Arcanist would get a C-level contract.

A Level 2 Arcanist would get a B-level contract.

A Level 3 Arcanist could get an A-level contract.

But only a Level 4 Arcanist could get an A contract.

The fact that Vulcan Arcana Combine had offered an A contract to a Level 2 Arcanist showed their level of appreciation for Ling Jiu.

"Vulcan is very sincere in inviting you to be a part of us, Ling Jiu. Join us!"

Wang Zhen was confident. "Under our guidance in Vulcan, I believe that you will become a powerful Arcanist in no time!"

"Ling Jiu!"

Bai Yang became a little desperate. The A contract was a much better offer than his A-level contract. He was afraid that Ling Jiu might choose Vulcan over Pangu.

Yet, to his surprise, Ling Jiu rejected the offer. "I sincerely appreciate Instructor Wang and Vulcan's offer, but I regret to say that I've signed up with Pangu Arcana Combine and have no plans on joining other companies!"

"You decline the offer?"

Wang Zhen looked at Ling Jiu, transfixed.

"I'm really sorry!"

Ling Jiu bowed slightly.

"That's all right!"

Wang Zhen appeared disappointed, but he did not press the matter. As talented as Ling Jiu was, Vulcan did not have to lower itself just to make Ling Jiu join the company.

"That's more like it, Ling Jiu!"

Instructor Bai Yang breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at Ling Jiu with appreciation.

Report chapter

Chapter 19: Pangu Mall, Astronomical Prices

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Unit A-35, Great Tang Residences.

Ling Xiaotong, Ling Jiu's younger sister, held a glass of orange juice in her hand, and her eyes were filled with admiration. "Congratulations on passing the assessment and getting the top spot. You are my idol from now on!"

"What idol? I'm your elder brother!"

Ling Jiu rolled his eyes as he clinked glasses with his young sister.

"Who says a brother can't be an idol?"

His younger sister rolled her eyes back at him. "Are you going to sign a new contract with the company tomorrow, and we'll have to move house again, Brother?"

Ling Jiu nodded. "My contract with the company is of a C-level now. Tomorrow, we will sign an A-level contract, which comes with a bungalow, a level up from the one we are currently staying in!"

"Ahh, a bungalow!"

His younger sister's eyes brightened up. "I knew we would move to a bungalow someday when you awakened your special ability. But I never expected the day to come so soon. You are awesome, Brother!"

"Now you know!"

Ling Jiu flipped his long hair back, trying to look cool. "I, your brother, will be the most powerful man in the world. The bungalow is just the beginning!"

"The most powerful man in the world? Yeah, talk big!"

His younger sister rolled her eyes. "Emperor Might from your company has been the default most powerful man in the world for thirty consecutive years. He'll be the first one to disagree with you!"

"He might be more powerful than me now, but it will be hard to say in the future!" Ling Jiu chuckled. "Becoming the world's number one is my first small goal!"

"You call that a small goal?"

His younger sister was struck dumb.

"Yeah, that's a small goal!"

Watching his children have a friendly bicker with each other, Ling Tianci felt happy and proud. His marriage and business had ended in a failure, but having a pair of children made him feel more successful than anything else.

The family of three stayed up late that night. After Ling Jiu cleaned himself up, he returned to his spacious room and switched on his computer.

The Direbeasts had invaded this world and affected the development of technology, but technologies such as microchips, material technology, and virtual projection were still booming.

Among them was computer technology.

The computers in this world were smart and flexible. They could fit inside the pocket like a mobile phone and were wearable like a watch.

Not only did they possess all the functions of a computer in his past life but also thousands of other uses that previous computers lacked. There was a "real-life mirror" for traveling anywhere, a "simulated piano" that could create staves and perform pieces, as well as the "Maliang Pen" that could turn drawings into real-life objects, to name a few.

Other than these functions, the smart-home system was the most widely used technology, just like the smart-home-system-equipped bungalow where Ling Jiu currently stayed.

It could wake you up in the morning, remind you to take your breakfast, get a hot shower ready for you, automatically clean up the garbage, and even alert the police during an emergency.

In simple words, the computers in this world were terrific. Animation, games, movies, and dramas were very advanced. Recluses would find this place a paradise.

Ling Jiu logged in to the company's website. After he used his ID card as authentication to gain access, a cute ant showed up on the screen.

"Nice to meet you, Ling Jiu. I am your assistant to help you navigate the official website of Pangu Arcana Combine. Let me walk you through the website!"

The ant sounded excited. "Pangu's official website is divided into five sections: the background, news, forum, mall, and Arcanist management!

"The background section mainly introduces the history and organizational structure of the company.

"The news section contains company memos and current news, through which you can learn about Pangu Arcana Combine's decisions and everything that happens around the world without needing to leave your home!

"The forum…

"The mall is the place where you can find and buy any items that you want such as Gene arcana secret techniques, special ability manuals, weaponry, transport, protective equipment, electronic devices, gourmet items, medical supplies, and treasures of Heaven and Earth!

"Of course, you can hire a higher-level Arcanist for one-to-one tutoring if you have the money!"

"Tell me more about the Gene Arcana secret technique!"

"It is the internal-strength cultivation method of our Arcanists. It is divided into four types, namely beginner, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate. Different levels produce different levels of cultivation base!"

"Ultimate Gene Arcana?"

It stunned Ling Jiu to hear that. Instructor Bai Yang had never talked about the ultimate Gene Arcana secret technique.

"It is the pinnacle of the Gene Arcana secret techniques, which makes Gene Arcana absorption 10,000 times more effective!" the little ant said.

"Ten-thousand times! Wow!"

Ling Jiu gaped in awe. While the beginner one only granted an absorption rate that was 10 times more effective, the ultimate Gene Arcana technique made it 10,000 times. The difference was just like day and night.

"If I had this ultimate Gene Arcana secret technique, one day of cultivation would produce a result equivalent to twenty-seven years of normal cultivation? A year of cultivation equated to 10,000 years of normal cultivation?"

Shocking!

Aspiring!

Ling Jiu was gasping. "How much does the ultimate Gene Arcana secret technique cost?"

"The ultimate Gene Arcana secret technique is the crown jewel of the company, not measurable in terms of money. It is not for sale unless there is some special contribution."

The little ant still looked excited while Ling Jiu's expression had collapsed. Not for sale? Then why did they put it in the mall? Just to tease people?

"What about the advanced Gene Arcana tecnique?"

Since the ultimate Gene Arcana technique was not for sale, Ling Jiu would settle for second-best: the advanced Gene Arcana technique that increased the effectiveness of the absorption rate by 1,000 times.

"The advanced Gene Arcana secret technique costs ten billion!"

"Ten billion?"

Disappointment was written all over his face. His monthly pay was only 1,000,000, and he would need to save up for 10,000 months or 833 years for it.

I would be long dead in 833 years!

Ling Jiu cursed in his mind, fighting back the urge to smash things up while steering the conversation away. "Tell me about the other Arcana manuals, Little Ant!"

"If the Gene Arcana secret technique is an internal-strength cultivation method, then Arcana manuals would be martial art manuals like The Demonbane Sword, The Solitary Nine Sword, Star Devourer, and the like!

"Arcanists can gain greater strength with these Arcana manuals!"

"The Arcana manuals?"

Chapter 20: Sands of Annihilation, the Treasure of Heaven and Earth

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Martial arts manuals?"

Ling Jiu's eyes lit up.

"Just like the Gene Arcana secret technique, the Arcana manuals are divided into basic, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate Arcana manuals!" the little ant said.

"Different classes of Arcana manuals bear different costs. However, they are still much cheaper than the Gene Arcana secret techniques of the same class. The basic Arcana manuals start from one million, intermediate Arcana manuals start from ten million, advanced manuals start from a hundred million, and the ultimate manuals, a billion!

"Of course, different Arcanas have different manuals and fall into different categories: metal, wood, fire, water, and earth!"

"They are much cheaper compared to the Gene Arcana secret techniques!" Ling Jiu sighed. "May I take a look at the Earth-element Arcana manuals?"

A table popped up on the screen, listing various basic Earth-element Arcana manuals, complete with their titles and brief introductions.

"Let's take a look at the first one, The Spiral Stone Spear!"

The Spiral Stone Spear: Basic Earth-element Arcana manual. Thanks to its rapid rotation, The Spiral Stone Spear has higher penetration ability and speed. It is also two times more lethal than ordinary stone spears!

"The Spiral Stone Spear is two times more lethal than an ordinary stone spear. Not too bad!"

Ling Jiu scrolled down the list. Other than The Spiral Stone Spear, there was The Rapid Mudshot, The Earthen Brambles, and The Colossal Stone Hammer.

Hold on a second!

There were over 10,000 types.

These basic Earth-element Arcana manuals had limitations; their power was two times the strength of ordinary Arcana at most.

Following that, Ling Jiu clicked on the intermediate Earth-element Arcana manuals.

The Meteor Hammer: intermediate Earth-element Arcana manual. The hammer shoots out at high speed on a fixed trajectory, combing kinetic and potential energies so it produces four times the lethality of an ordinary stone hammer upon impacting the target.

Brutal Stalagmite.

"Intermediate Arcana manual… Four times the lethality of an ordinary Arcana, but bad!"

Ling Jiu continued to scroll and found that the advanced Arcana manuals had skills that were eight times the strength of ordinary Arcana.

Meanwhile, the ultimate Arcana manuals contained skills that were twenty times the strength of ordinary Arcana, but their prices were also appropriately higher—one hundred million and one billion, respectively.

"I can only afford the basic Arcana manuals. The advanced and ultimate Arcana manuals are way beyond my budget!

"It's all about money!"

Ling Jiu let out a sigh of disappointment. He initially thought that after he became an Arcanist and lived in a bungalow with millions in annual pay, he could join the rich men's club. Only now did he realize that he was still no better than he was last time because he could only afford the most basic Arcana manuals.

"Let's see the weaponry!"

Weaponry is categorized into cold and hot weapons. Cold weapons comprise the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth series, while hot weapons are of modern technology.

Ling Jiu clicked the Earth-element cold weapons, which consisted of different types of earth: ordinary earth, heavy sand, solid rock, and special earthen substances.

Earth-element cold weapons were divided into four classes: basic, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate.

"I didn't know that earth and rock were of different classes!"

Ling Jiu clicked on the ultimate Earth-element cold weapons, which only displayed one type: The Sands of Annihilation.

The Sands of Annihilation: a type of magical quicksand. It is not only incredibly heavy but also unbelievably tough. It is fireproof with a high melting point and can withstand extreme cold. It is so far the toughest and densest sand element on Earth.

Price: 10 billion/cubic meter.

"Ten billion for one cubic meter? Holy moly!"

Ling Jiu gasped in shock. A cubic meter of gold weighed 19.32 tons. A ton of gold was worth 270 million, which meant that 19.32 tons of gold were worth 5.2 billion.

While a cubic meter of gold was worth 5.2 billion, a cubic meter of the Sands of Annihilation was 10 billion. Who could afford something more expensive than gold?

That being said, this Sands of Annihilation must be terrifyingly powerful! Ling Jiu thought to himself.

The earth-type arcanist could manipulate the earth, rock, and sand. No matter how heavy these things were, it would not pose a problem to the earth-type arcanist. But it would be another story for the enemy.

Would attacking your enemy with ordinary sand be the same as using the incredibly heavy Sands of Annihilation? The answer was a definite no.

"If I can get my hands on a few cubic meters of Sands of Annihilation, my combat strength will surely increase by several notches!"

"Stone shots, stone spears, stone hammers, stone guns, earthen spikes, and swamps formed by the Sands of Annihilation are so much more powerful than those formed by ordinary earth and rocks!"

Ling Jiu was almost drooling. "It's a shame that this item is too expensive. There's no way I can afford it!"

Following that, Ling Jiu clicked on the advanced Earth-element cold weapons. Compared with the ultimate Earth-element cold weapon menu, which only contained one item, namely the Sands of Annihilation, the advanced Earth-element cold weapons had over twenty types.

Osmium ore: the rare earth that contains Osmium, the densest metal in this world. This means it is the heaviest metal. The powder ground from the Osmium rare earth is 20 times heavier than ordinary earth.

Price: 10 million/cubic meter.

"This is still very expensive!"

"Next, Black Sand!"

Black Sand is the toughest synthetic material ever made. Sand that is ground from the black rock is tougher than diamond and 100 times stronger than steel.

Price: 10 million/cubic meter.

After he read through the entire series of weapons, Ling Jiu's eyes were on fire. The problem was, there was none he could afford.

"I am too broke!"

Ling Jiu wailed to himself. He then clicked on the transport menu. The mall sold all kinds of transportation. Aside from ordinary vehicles, there was another type of vehicle that caught Ling Jiu's attention.

It was a maglev vehicle.

Thanks to the Direbeast's invasion, the material technology of this world had become extremely advanced. Among them, the superconductor materials were more advanced than those on Earth in his past life. Hence, the maglev vehicle technology was far more mature than anything he had seen in his past life.

Ling Jiu could not take his eyes off all of them, from the least expensive maglev motorcycles and more expensive maglev cars to the large maglev airplanes as well as ultra-luxury maglev airships.

"I can't even afford the least expensive maglev motorcycle!" Ling Jiu whined. "It still costs at least ten million!"

Maglev motorcycle: 15 million

Maglev car: 80 million

Maglev airplane: 300 million

Maglev airship: 5 billion

It was because of the astronomical cost that these maglev vehicles had little relation to the ordinary folk, and they were rare in Lantian Base City.

Next, Ling Jiu went on to study the protective equipment, electronic products, gourmet items, medical supplies, and the treasure of Heaven and Earth.

The treasure of Heaven and Earth was basically the essence of Heaven and Earth. Each type of treasure possessed incredible uses in awakening abilities, increasing Gene Arcana absorption, physical enhancements, and soul elevation.

Report chapter

---

Read My Special Ability is Perfect Replication Chapter 21 online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 21: The Wind Hunters, Windfall Business

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Early the next morning, Ling Jiu and Li Kai went to the company together.

"Ol' Ling, did you visit the official website last night?"

"Yeah, I did. You?"

"I went on too, but I was mainly on the Pangu Forum, I didn't look at the other pages!"

"You know, I read a post yesterday saying that Pangu has taken in more than ten thousand new recruits, and there are about eight hundred Earth-element Arcanists like us, and those with Dual Arcanas are no lesser than fifty. Bloody hell, that's amazing!"

"That many? Are you for real?" Even Ling Jiu was surprised. "Don't Arcanists make up a very low proportion? Why are there so many new recruits popping up?"

"While the ratio is low, the total population is huge!"

Li Kai sighed. "Even Huaxia has about a hundred base cities, with a total population of seven or eight billion, so there's definitely no shortage of people with Arcana talents! Not to mention, Pangu is recruiting worldwide!"

"You're right!"

Ling Jiu nodded, and even with a small ratio, when multiplied by the massive population numbers, the resulting figures would naturally be terrifying. Plus, after 30 years of development, the world's population was steadily rising year after year.

"I went onto the forums last night and found something amazing!" Li Kai added.

"What was it?"

"I heard that Pangu has recruited a genius this year, someone with the Supreme Dual Arcana of Complete Manipulation and Complete Annihilation!"

Li Kai was in awe. "The ability of Complete Manipulation means that she can control anything, even the natural elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. With that alone, how many Arcanas would she have? And let's not forget the ability of complete annihilation!"

Ling Jiu's jaw dropped in disbelief. "That powerful? For real?"

"The poster in the forum should be an insider, so it should be real!" Li Kai continued, "I heard that the person apparently comes from the Yang Group in Chang'an Base City. Is she the daughter of Yang Group's chairman?"

"The Yang Group?"

Ling Jiu paused for a moment.

"Ol' Ling, don't tell me you've never heard of the Yang Group before?"

Li Kai wondered. "That's the number one consortium in the Northwest Region, and its headquarters is in Chang'an Base City. I've also heard, the Yang Family that controls the Yang Group is also the top family in Chang'an Base City. That place is enormous, you know!"

"The Yang Family!"

Ling Jiu muttered as an imperceptible glint flashed past his eyes. "Let's go, it's almost eight!"

"In this trial assessment that involved fifteen of you, fourteen have passed the assessment while one has been eliminated!"

In a conference room, the company's top echelon, Instructor Bai Yang, and the fifteen new recruits were all present in line as Manager Luo Jia gave a concluding speech.

Today, Luo Jia was wearing a pair of fitted leather pants, showcasing her flawless figure and toned curves.

"It's worth mentioning that Ling Jiu has achieved first place in this assessment and greatly demonstrated the greatness of Pangu, which is worthy of praise!"

Luo Jia's eyes fell on Ling Jiu as she smiled. "Ling Jiu, come with me to the office later. We will re-sign your contract, an A contract!"

"An A contract?"

All of the newbies were stunned. Was the previously agreed upon reward not an A-level contract? How did it become an A one instead?"

Before everyone's confused looks, Luo Jia smiled. "If Vulcan can offer an A contract, then we, Pangu will naturally not be stingy!"

So that was it!

All of the newbies suddenly came to a realization. After the trial assessment, they had witnessed Vulcan trying to poach Ling Jiu, and they automatically understood why. Ling Jiu had refused back then, but they did not expect the company to be so generous to match Vulcan's offer of an A contract.

How enviable!

All of the new recruits looked at Ling Jiu with eyes full of jealousy. They had been on the same starting line six months ago, but after that period, the gap between him and them had become so big. They were still on C-level contracts while Ling Jiu was about to sign an A contract.

Why was there such a big gap between people?

"Thank you, Ms. Lo!"

Ling Jiu thanked her.

"Keep it up and work hard!"

Luo Jia nodded slightly and looked at another newbie. "Yu Xiaochen, you did not pass the assessment, and in accordance with the rules, we can only terminate your contract!"

"Ms. Luo, please give me a chance?"

Yu Xiaochen trembled and whispered.

"This is the rule set by the Arcanist Directorate, and no one can go against it!"

Luo Jia shook her head. "Xiao Wang, take him to the Mind Division and wipe out his memory regarding the Bahamut Absorption Technique. At the same time, take back the house that's been allocated to him and the six-month salary as well!"

"Yes, Ms. Luo!" the secretary responded and looked at Yu Xiaochen.

"Come with me!"

Yu Xiaochen looked like he had a pall on his face as he obediently followed Secretary Xiao Wang out of the conference room. The other newbies looked at his back, and their hearts sank.

While they knew in advance that failing the assessment would lead to such an outcome, when the scene actually unfolded before them, everyone could not help but be shocked.

Yu Xiaochen was really fired, and the townhouse, as well as half a year's salary, were all taken back. Even the Gene Arcana secret technique, the Bahamut Absorption Technique was erased from his memory. It was terrifying, just too terrifying!

"Award the best and punish the poor; survival of the fittest. That is our infallible maxim, which is why Pangu can stand at the top of the world and become the world's number one Arcana organization!"

Looking at the newbies' expressions, Luo Jia said, "I hope in your upcoming tasks, all of you will work hard and do your best! The same maxim applies. The company will not hesitate to reward the best, while the punishment for those who don't perform won't be easy as well."

"Yes, Ms. Luo!"

"Very good!"

Luo Jia nodded slightly. "Next, I'll talk about your work arrangements. All of you are now qualified Level 1 Arcanists, and the greatest function of an Arcanist is not to stay in the company as technical or clerical staff but to break into the wilderness and hunt the Direbeasts!"

Break into the wilderness and hunt down the Direbeasts!

Ling Jiu perked up as a look of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

"So, there are two paths ahead of all of you!" Luo Jia said indifferently.

"The first is to become a Wild Hunter! After becoming one, you can freely head into the wilderness and kill those Direbeasts. Then, you may sell their corpses to the company or to other organizations!

"The difference is, if you sell to other organizations, the company will take 10% of the profit, while the same rule is not applied when it is sold to the company!"

Ling Jiu nodded slightly.

A Direbeast's entire body was a treasure trove, and the corpse of a high-level Direbeast was invaluable. Why would an Arcana organization hire so many Arcanists for?

It was, of course, to hunt down the Direbeasts!

Direbeast hunting was an extremely profitable business, making more money than any other industry, be it telecommunications, computing, real estate, oil, aviation… None could compete with the industry of Direbeast hunting. It was also the pillar in which many arcana organizations relied on for their survival.

Hunt the Direbeasts.

Dismember them.

Then sell them for profit.

The flesh of Direbeasts were eaten, their skin made into leather, and their bones made into weapons. The corpses of high-level Direbeasts contained rich Gene Arcanas that could nourish the human body, repair damaged and aging organs, nourish key organs, as well as grant benefits to the mind and body…

All in all, the people of this world no longer ate poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese, or domesticated animals like pigs, cows, or goats. Rather, all of them ate Direbeast meat.

It could be said that there was no other industry more profitable than the Direbeast industry.

"The second is to become part of the logistics crew!"

Report chapter

Chapter 22: Two Options, A Benefits

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There were two paths.

The first one was to be a Wild Hunter, while the second was to be part of the logistics crew.

The former was free and dangerous without a guarantee of safety, but the returns were high. The latter was more laid back, safe, and stable, more suitable for those who sought stability.

Luo Jia made the pros and cons of the two paths clear. Then, she gave Ling Jiu and the rest a day to consider and decide before leaving for work today.

After the meeting was adjourned, Ling Jiu, Li Kai, and Wang Jiabao went to the company's computer room, planning to visit the company forum to see what their seniors had suggested.

When they arrived at the computer room, they each turned on a computer and logged into Pangu's company forum. A little search later, many related posts popped up.

Ling Jiu browsed through them casually, as he did not care about the opinions of his predecessors. The only reason he went on to the forum was to gain some knowledge of previous experiences since he had already made up his mind.

"To become stronger, I naturally need to choose the Wild Hunter option. Every Arcanist is brought up by money, Gene Arcana secret techniques, Arcana manuals, treasures, weapons, armor, vehicles, dimensional pockets… Which aspect doesn't require money?

"If I take in a fixed salary, God knows how long I'd need to even get an intermediate Gene Arcana secret technique? How long would it take for me to get an Arcana manual?

"Only by becoming a Wild Hunter and killing Direbeasts will I be able to earn the greatest amount of wealth in the shortest period of time. A Class 1 Direbeast is worth thousands, a Class 2 one is worth tens of thousands, while Class 3 Direbeasts are worth hundreds of thousands!

"A Level 2 Arcanist who goes into the wilderness can earn at least a hundred thousand at a time, much more than staying back in the company as part of the back-office team."

Looking at the suggestions given by his seniors, Ling Jiu became even more firm with his choice.

Moreover, it was a total waste of talent for someone with an Arcana like his to be a back-office worker, so being a Wild Hunter was the best way for him.

"Ol' Ling, do you have a choice in mind?"

"Yeah, I'll be choosing to be a Wild Hunter."

"A Wild Hunter is good, but it's too dangerous. The mortality rate of the Wild Hunters has always been high. Even a Level 5 or Level 6 Wild Hunter could die out there, and we are just a bunch of newbies…"

"Ol' Li, I understand what you're saying, but I prefer a free and unrestrained life, so the path of the Wild Hunter is mine to take."

"If that's the case, then I'll also choose to be a Wild Hunter…"

"Don't! You should think about this carefully. This is a major life event for you. I think you should discuss it with your parents. After all, you're the only son they have. If anything happens…"

"All right!"

The afternoon passed by quickly, and when it was time to get off work, Ling Jiu and the others walked out of the computer room and headed to the general manager's office on the thirtieth floor.

"Have all of you made up your minds?"

Luo Jia cocked an eyebrow and asked.

"Yes!"

Ling Jiu and the rest answered.

"Those who have chosen to be Wild Hunters, take a step forward!"

Ling Jiu, Yu Changsheng, Zhao Xiang, and three other people stood forward, while Li Kai, Wang Jiabao, Yin Ke, and the remaining five stood in place. Li Kai chose to become a logistics crew member in the end, not because he was afraid of death, rather, it was at his parent's determined behest.

To Li Kai's parents, the fact that their son could become an Arcanist with a salary of over ten thousand a month, live in a townhouse worth several hundred million, and become an employee of Pangu was already a blessing. That was enough for them to live with dignity. There was no longer a need to put his head out and live a life filled with bloodshed; it was simply not worth it!

Li Kai was not a person with his own opinions, and he finally agreed to his parents' request to become a member of the logistics crew.

Ling Jiu did not say much. Everyone had their own pursuits, and every family did too. They just sought whatever they needed.

"The six of you stay behind. The rest, go with Xiao Wang," Luo Jia said lightly.

"Yes, Ms. Luo!"

Li Kai and the other seven left, leaving only six people including Ling Jiu. All of them had chosen to become Wild Hunters.

"Since you have chosen this path, I need to tell you in advance that being a Wild Hunter is dangerous, and at any moment, you may very well perish by the claws of a Direbeast!"

Luo Jia swept her beautiful eyes across the six individuals. "If you want to withdraw now, it's still not too late! However, it won't be as easy once you regret your decision after you sign the contract!"

"Ms. Luo, we have made up our minds!" the six said in unison.

"Very good!"

Luo Jia nodded again. "All of you are newcomers who are being cultivated by the company, and the company will need to consider your safety. Our traditional practice is to get a veteran to bring you along for a time, and once you are used to life in the wilderness, you can then make your own choices!"

"We'll leave it to you to arrange it, Ms. Luo!"

Yu Changsheng and the other four naturally had no opinions, but Ling Jiu did not agree as he looked at Luo Jia and said, "Ms. Luo, I want to go solo!"

"Go solo?"

Luo Jia frowned. "The five of you, look for VP Liu and allow him to make the arrangements for you. Ling Jiu, you stay behind. We can proceed with the re-signing of your contract in the process!"

"Yes!"

Yu Changsheng and the other four left, leaving Ling Jiu alone.

"You just said that… you wanted to go solo?"

Luo Jia tapped the table lightly. "Don't you know how dangerous the wilderness is?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Ling Jiu nodded.

"Do you know that the mortality rate of Wild Hunters is still very high?" Luo Jia looked at Ling Jiu.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Do you know that if there's no veteran to bring you along, it would be the easiest for a rookie like you to die?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Yet, you still want to go solo?"

"Ms. Luo, I have confidence!"

"Confidence? Hahaha! Even Level 5 and Level 6 Arcanists are likely to die in the wilderness. A mere Level 2 Arcanist like you dares to say that you are confident?"

Luo Jia seemed amused.

"Ms. Luo, only the areas that are inhabited by mid- to high-level Direbeasts are dangerous. The nearby wilderness may not necessarily be so. I know my strength is limited, so before I get stronger, I will not head into areas where the powerful Direbeasts are!" Ling Jiu promised.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Seeing how resolute Ling Jiu was, it was unlikely that his decision was a hastily made one. Luo Jia could not help but frown.

"I've made up my mind!"

Ling Jiu was beyond resolute.

"Although you are the company's Arcanist, it is your right to choose to go solo or not, and the company cannot force you! However, I still want to remind you that the company has decided to focus on training you, so think carefully!" Luo Jia said meaningfully.

It was all due to Ling Jiu's excellent performance. If it were someone else, she would not have bothered.

"Ms. Luo, I've decided!"

Ling Jiu shook his head but did not waver.

"Since you've decided, I will not interfere!" Seeing that her persuasion had fallen on deaf ears, Luo Jia could no longer be bothered to persuade him. She then took out a contract and handed it over to Ling Jiu. "This is an A contact as your reward. Have a look!"

Ling Jiu took the contract and noticed that the contents were not much different from that in a C-level contract. The only exception was the benefits section, which had changed drastically.

1. An intermediate Gene Arcana secret technique.

2. A standalone villa.

3. A million-dollar monthly salary.

4. …

"Ms. Luo, what does the fourth blank spot mean?" Ling Jiu asked in confusion.

"An A contract is based on an A-level contract with an additional benefit of being able to freely choose one extra benefit!" Luo Jia explained. "In view of your situation, I have prepared three options for you. You can choose one of them and add it to the list as the fourth benefit!"

"One, an intermediate Arcana manual!

"Two, an intermediate cold weapon!

"Three, an intermediate toolkit!"

"Choose one from the three?"

Ling Jiu was shocked. He saw Luo Jia turn on her computer and show him the three available items. She listed a series of Arcana manuals, cold weapons, and toolkits.

Ling Jiu only took a glance before he immediately made a choice. "Ms. Luo, I choose the intermediate-level dimensional pocket!"

COMMENT9 comments

Chapter 23: Arriving in the Wilderness, Slaughtering Giant Wolves

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Intermediate tools…

Intermediate cold weapons…

Intermediate Arcana manuals…

The prices of these items were all in the tens of millions, and it was not a matter of which was better but their different functions.

However, Ling Jiu immediately decided on the intermediate dimensional pocket because it was a very important item for a Wild Hunter.

It was not easy to enter the wilderness, and everyone wanted to hunt down as many Direbeasts as possible and take back as many Direbeast carcasses as possible so that they could earn more money.

At that moment, the value of the dimensional pocket was reflected since the bag would allow a Wild Hunter to carry more Direbeast carcasses.

After all, the carcasses of the Direbeasts were all very large. Without a dimensional pocket, one would not be able to carry much at all.

Like the products in the mall, the dimensional pocket was divided into four categories, basic, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate. Basic dimensional pockets had a space of 100 cubic meters and were worth millions. Meanwhile, intermediate dimensional pockets had a space of 1,000 cubic meters.

One thousand cubic meters = 10*10*10.

While it might not seem big, it was more than enough for a Level 2 rookie Arcanist.

"Have you decided?"

"Yes."

"Then sign the contract!"

After signing the contract, Ling Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. From now on, he was a person with a salary that was worth millions, and there were not many people like him in Lantian Base City.

"Your salary will automatically be deposited into your card on the 12th of each month!

"As for the intermediate dimensional pocket and intermediate Gene Arcana secret technique, collect them from the Logistics Department later!

"The company's stipulation is that every Wild Hunter must go to the wilderness at least once a month and kill at least ten Class 1 Direbeasts each time!

"Before you enter the wilderness, I would like to remind you again, do only what you can. You only have one life. Don't lose it just because you want to make money!

"By the way, you better get a Direbeast Radar set. It is very important for your journey into the wilderness!"

After work, Ling Jiu did not go straight back home. Instead, he went to the market and bought plenty of Direbeast meat and dishes before he took them back home.

"Why did you buy so many dishes today?"

Ling Tianci was surprised.

"I'll be traveling into the wilderness tomorrow, and I guess I'll be away for a good ten days to half a month. So before I leave, I want to have a good meal!" Ling Jiu explained with a smile.

"The wilderness? You chose to become a Wild Hunter?"

Ling Tianci trembled all over. He had run a Direbeast company before and had often dealt with Arcanists, so he naturally knew about the Wild Hunters.

"Yeah!"

Ling Jiu nodded.

"You brat, why didn't you discuss such a big matter with me?"

Ling Tianci was angry. "You're still young! How can you be a Wild Hunter with such low strength? What if… No! I don't agree!"

Ling Jiu smiled bitterly. "Dad, I've already signed the contract. It's too late to regret it now! Plus, I'm confident about staying alive in the wilderness!"

"Confident? Not even those Level 5 and Level 6 Arcanists dare to say that they have confidence. How can you be so arrogant, boy?"

Ling Tianci was fuming. "I'll go to your company tomorrow… How can I let a child like you roam the wilderness?"

"Dad, hear me out…"

In any case, after he revealed part of his trump card, he managed to convince his father.

Ling Jiu breathed a sigh of relief and felt helpless at the same time. Being a child had its disadvantages. Every adult would think that you were immature, and Ling Jiu hated being treated like a child.

The meal that evening was very scrumptious. Ling Tianci had unleashed all of his hidden culinary skills, and every dish was delicious. So, Ling Jiu had a great meal.

The next morning, Ling Jiu left after he took his clothes, food, sleeping bag, tent, laptop, and Direbeast Radar.

"Son, remember to take care of yourself!"

Standing at the door of the villa, Ling Tianci looked at his son's fading silhouette. Unknowingly, his eyes reddened and his voice seemed to be slightly stuck in his throat.

Fengming County, located in the northwest of Lantian Base City, bordering Linyou to the north, Taibai to the south, Fufeng to the east, and Chencang to the west. It was one of the homelands of the Chinese nation, seeing that it was the birthplace of Emperor Yan, the Zhou Dynasty, and the Zhou culture.

Fengming County had a long history, and it enjoyed such monikers as "The City of Bronzeware", "The City of Oracle Bone Inscriptions", and "The Ancient County of China". However, the Direbeast incursion 30 years ago had turned this historical county into ruins.

A large number of Direbeasts had rushed out of Qin Mountain and Taibai Mountain, completely occupying the county.

Today, 30 years later, Fengming County had become the lair of Direbeasts, and many low-level Direbeasts roamed there. The thousand-year-old county was… completely lost.

It had already been two days since Ling Jiu arrived in Fengming County. Rubbish was piled up high on both sides of the road while a huge bronze tripod lay in the middle of the road. It was filled with all kinds of beast dung, and one could imagine what the Direbeasts did to it.

"Fengming County has come to this!"

Ling Jiu sighed inwardly. He had been to Fengming County in his previous life, and he had not forgotten about the place. He did not expect Fengming County in this world to turn out like this. It was really lamentable!

"Awoooo…"

A loud beastial roar rang out from one of the shops, and a three-meter-tall giant wolf the size of an elephant charged at Ling Jiu.

Dum!

The giant wolf stomped on the ground, and the earth shook slightly. One could imagine how heavy it was, yet it was surprisingly fast; and like a charging tank, its power was extremely terrifying.

"Good timing!"

All of a sudden, a huge force descended heavily upon the giant wolf, and it was caught off guard. It was sent staggering, and the next moment, a large number of earthern thorns shot out.

Dush dush dush!

The giant wolf was instantly stabbed into a sieve, and after two pitiful howls, it slumped onto the ground gasping. It looked like it was done for.

Ling Jiu took out his bonecleaver, which he had prepared in advance, and lobbed the giant wolf's four claws off.

If he could, he would obviously take this giant wolf back.

However, he had no way to do that. The dimensional pocket had limited space, and it was impossible for him to take everything, hence he could only take the most valuable parts. Half of a giant wolf's value was in its four claws, so he only needed to take the claws.

"Awoooo…

"Awoooo…"

As soon as Ling Jiu chopped the giant wolf's four claws off, a series of even louder howls rang out in the distance. At the same time, a giant wolf rushed out and closed in on Ling Jiu.

"Damn it, I forgot the Demonwolves are pack animals!"

Ling Jiu cursed inwards as he slammed both hands onto the ground. Following that, the ground before him promptly rolled in violent manner as if the earth was quaking.

The giant wolf shuddered, and at that moment, another terrifying force came crashing down on it.

Baaam!!

After losing its stability and being hit by the gravitational force, the giant wolf that had rushed to the front was crushed to the ground, then stabbed into a sieve by the earthern thorns.

Upon seeing this, the giant wolves in the distance shrank back and dared not step forward, halting their charge.

Ling Jiu stepped forward, and another blow of gravitational force came crashing down. The giant wolves were crushed to the point that they could not stand properly, and suddenly, the ground beneath their feet turned into quicksand.

The wolves were trapped long before they could escape, and by the time they reacted, the quicksand had turned into solid ground. They could no longer escape even if they wanted to. What greeted them next was the earthern thorns.

Dush dush dush!

Chapter 24: Titan Kabutomushi, a Man and a Woman

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"The four claws of a Demonwolf are worth 1,500."

"There are 23 Demonwolves here!"

"So, in other words, in just a short period of time, I've made 34.5K?"

"This is literally picking up money!"

Ling Jiu sighed deeply. In his previous life, he would need to slog hard for a whole month for only a few thousand yuan. Even then, he was at his boss' beck and call, and was liked a whipped mutt, a far cry from now where he could just randomly get rich?

"As the Feng Shui flows, it's finally my year, finally my time to strike big!"

Ling Jiu picked up the bone cleaver, and cut off the giant wolves' four claws one by one, before putting them into his Dimensional Bag, and left the place.

"The Direbeast Radar shows the red dots are Class 3 Direbeasts, the green dots, Class 2 Direbeasts, and the black dots are Class 1 Direbeasts!"

"There aren't many Class 3 Direbeasts in Fengming County, only three of them, and they are quite far away from where I am. There are quite a lot of Class 2 Direbeasts though, as many as 17!"

"Yeah, let's look for the Class 2 Direbeasts first!"

Ling Jiu followed the instructions on the Direbeast Radar and found the nearest Class 2 Direbeast.

This was a bovine-type Direbeast that was five meters tall, and eight meters long. It was all black, and its mane upside down, with three spiral horns all jutting forward.

The Trihorn Bull: Class 2 Direbeast. It evolved from an ordinary buffalo and was extremely powerful. It was ill-tempered and extremely fierce. Its sharp horns were indestructible.

"The Trihorn Bull's most powerful attack is the three sharp horns and its brute force. I just need to be careful, and not get hit by it head-on!"

Ling Jiu carefully moved over and prepared to launch a sudden attack, yet the Trihorn Bull's vigilance exceeded Ling Jiu's expectations, and he was detected soon enough.

Mooo!

The Trihorn Bull glared at Ling Jiu, its right hoof trampling the ground as two air streams spewed out its nostrils as if it was about to charge at Ling Jiu like a tank.

Booom…

The earth trembled as the impact of the Trihorn Bull trampling upon the ground was much more terrifying than the Demonwolves.

Ling Jiu could feel that the ground within ten square meters of him was trembling, and then looking at the Trihorn Bull's three meter-long horns, if he was hit by it, he will definitely have three new holes punctured through his body.

"Earthshatter!"

Ling Jiu stomped on the ground, and the earth was suddenly sundered on both sides. The Trihorn bull was caught off guard, and it immediately fell into the crack.

"Earthspike!"

Immediately afterward, a series of earthen spikes shot out from both sides of the crack and stabbed into the Trihorn Bull's belly. Blood spewed out like arrows, dyeing the entire area red.

Mooo!!

The Trihorn Bull did not completely die, it whimpered and struggled, and only after struggling for a good while before it gradually died away.

"A Class 2 Direbeast sure is tough!"

Ling Jiu took out his bone cleaver, and happily cut the Trihorn Bull apart. A Class 2 Direbeast was worth tens of thousands, and a Trihorn Bull like this could sell for about 60 thousand bucks.

Of course, Ling Jiu could not hope to carry such a massive carcass along with him. He could only take the most valuable parts. The three sharp horns, the ribs, and the organs.

Half an hour later, the Trihorn Bull was completely carved out by Ling Jiu. Looking at the remains of the bull, Ling Jiu sighed. "What a shame, there's so much more that cannot be taken away. If only my Dimensional Bag was larger!"

Of course, this was just wild wishes, a High-level Dimensional Bag cost hundreds of millions, and he could not afford it for the time being.

"But, never mind!"

"This one would earn me around 40 thousand or so, plus the 30 thousand earlier, that's 70 thousand a day. Make it 80 to 100 thousand a day, that's about 3 million a month, and I would have enough to get a High-level Dimensional Bag within two to three years' time!"

Just when Ling Jiu was pondering silently, a powerful sound of wing flap suddenly came from a distance. Ling Jiu turned his head and saw a black shadow darting toward him.

Wooosh!!

The speed of the black shadow was so fast that Ling Jiu had no time to react. He only felt a tremendous force crashing into his chest as his entire person flew out uncontrollably before crashing hard onto the ground.

"URGHH–!"

Ling Jiu spat out a mouthful of blood, only to feel a sharp pain coming from his chest as if it was about to be crushed.

However, it was not yet over, the black shadow did not plan to let him go, and charged at him again.

"Quadruple Gravity!"

Ling Jiu was shocked, and immediately unleashed the Gravity Arcana, and increased the force to the maximum.

As the terrifying gravitational force swept down, the surrounding air became extremely viscous, and the black shadow's figure shuddered as its movements became sluggish.

It was only a meter in length, and not even 80 centimeters wide, its body was a long oval, and completely pitch black with a sharp horn on its head.

Its whole body was wrapped in a thick black carapace, just like a tough scale armor.

"A Class 3 Direbeasts, a Titan Kabutomushi!"

The Titan Kabutomushi was evolved from an ordinary kabutomushi, and although it was only a meter in size, it had inherited the terrifying strength of a kabutomushi and was extremely powerful.

It was just a small Titan Kabutomushi, yet its power was even more terrifying than a Trihorn Bull and was a typical power-type Direbeast.

"Damn it! Weren't the three Class 3 Direbeasts a few kilometers away? Why did this Titan Kabutomushi appear where I am?"

Ling Jiu cursed under his breath, but his movements were not sluggish. The ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked open as a hole appeared, and he quickly got in.

The hole then merged together as the ground returned to its original state while Ling Jiu disappeared into the ground.

Earthern Escape was another usage of Ling Jiu's Earth Manipulation Arcana, and he could hide in the ground in times of crisis and could avoid danger to the maximum extent. It was one of Ling Jiu's life-saving techniques.

Buzz…

The Titan Kabutomushi hovered around the area Ling Jiu was hiding and refused to leave.

Ling Jiu could not help but curse inwards, "Bloody hell, has this bastard got its eyes on me? Why isn't it letting me go?"

While he was underground, Ling Jiu still paid attention to what was going on outside. With the ability to manipulate earth, he could 'see' movements above through the ground. The Titan Kabutomushi seemed to want him dead, and hovered back and forth, waiting for him to reappear.

"Wait until I become a Level Three Arcanist, I'll make sure you're the first in line to get f*cked!"

Just as Ling Jiu was secretly swearing in his heart, a rip in the air blasted out, and something that shocked Ling Jiu to the core happened.

A cold, gleaming blade shot out from the distance, and slammed straight into the Titan Kabutomushi's head, killing it instantly.

Bam!

The Titan Kabutomushi fell onto the ground motionless, it was killed in a single blow, and died on the spot.

"It's dead?"

Ling Jiu was shocked, "Who killed it?"

Woooosh!!

A flash later, a man and a woman abruptly appeared. The man was a middle-aged man with an expressionless face while the woman was a tall beauty.

"Who are they?"

Looking at the sudden appearance of the two, Ling Jiu was confused. Why would this pair suddenly appear in this part of the wilderness? Who are they?

"The Titan Kabutomushi is dead, you can come out now!"

The beauty suddenly opened her mouth, and her voice was like flowing spring water and was melodious.

"She's talking to me?"

Chapter 25: Fifty Square Feet of Osmium Soil, Void Falcons

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Who are you people?"

Ling Jiu looked at the unbelievably beautiful woman, or… girl, with a look of confusion on his face, while secretly he was on guard.

The wilderness was very dangerous, and while he needed to be aware of the Direbeasts, he must pay even more attention to humans as humans are far more terrifying and cruel than any Direbeast.

"You have Gravity Arcana?"

The young girl looked at Ling Jiu and asked softly. Although it was a question, her tone was undoubtedly certain.

"Yeah!"

Ling Jiu did not deny, he believed that the other party must have already noticed the battle between him and the Titan Kabutomushi, and must have already seen him use the Gravity Arcana.

Besides, there was nothing to hide.

"Hello, my name is Ai Yuhe, and I would like to ask you for a favor!" The girl spoke elegantly and generously. "After everything is done, your efforts will be greatly compensated!"

"How can I help you?"

Ling Jiu was taken aback for a moment, and could not help but to look at the middle-aged man behind the girl. He felt a terrifying aura from the man, and this aura was even stronger than the one exuded by General Manager Luo Jia.

Ling Jiu knew that this middle-aged man might be even stronger than Luo Jia, and for such a person to need his help? Ling Jiu could not help but be suspicious.

"It's like this. We want to catch the Void Falcons, but they are just too fast, and could travel through the void, so we always miss them by just a tad each time!"

Ai Yuhe put it bluntly. "You have Gravity Arcana with you, so you should be able to help us! Don't worry, as long as you are willing to help, I will give you a high-level weapon. After this is done, there will be other rewards!"

"A high-level cold weapon? For real?"

Ling Jiu was taken aback. A high-level cold weapon was good stuff that was worth in the hundreds of millions, how could he just get it with a small help? Surely, she was not hoodwinking him, right?

Seemingly seeing through Ling Jiu's doubts, Ai Yuhe flipped her petite hand, and an additional Dimensional Bag appeared on it, she then poured the contents inside the bag out.

Whooosh…

A pile of bright silver "fine sand" poured out and filled the ground in a blink of an eye.

"This is…"

Ling Jiu's pupils shrank.

"Fifty square feet of Osmium soil!"

Ai Yuhe lightly opened her lips.

"Osmium soil? Fifty square feet?"

Ling Jiu was shocked. How could he not know about osmium soil? This was one of the high-level earth-type cold weapons that he had wanted.

The osmium soil was twenty times heavier than ordinary sand, and its power naturally need not be stated. With this much osmium soil, his combat power would naturally increase by leaps and bounds.

The problem was, this thing was too expensive. One square foot of osmium soil was worth 10 million, and 10 square feet, 100 million. How could he afford it?

However, before him was a whole 50 square feet of osmium soil, for a total of 500 million!

"Miss, your gift is too expensive, I cannot take it, please take it back."

While Ling Jiu had greedy eyes, his mind was clear. The Void Falcon was a Class 3 Direbeast, and for him to get such a rich reward by helping to capture a Class 3 Direbeast? Why does it feel unreal?

"Miss?"

Ai Yuhe pursed her lips and laughed. "You might not know, but the Void Falcon is very important to me. Their value to me is not comparable to this osmium soil! Besides! We are not just capturing one, if possible, the more the better!

"This…"

"Boy, what's there to decline for just that bit of osmium soil? Just take it as requested, don't dilly-dally like a damn nancy!"

The middle-aged man spoke as he looked at Ling Jiu coldly. "If you feel unworthy of it, then just work harder later, this little money is nothing to us!"

"All right!"

Ling Jiu smiled bitterly and reluctantly accepted the osmium soil, yet he was overjoyed deep down. "Fifty square feet of osmium soil, this is just too expensive! I just hope they don't work me to death later!"

Ling Jiu actually had no other choice. The other party was far stronger than him, what else could he do but to agree?

It was better for him to know his place!

"Can you follow us to catch the Void Falcon now?" Ai Yuhe asked expectantly.

"Yes, yes! Anytime!"

Ling Jiu patted his chest several times, and with that, a piercing pain rang out from his chest. Only then did Ling Jiu remembered he had a chest wound.

"You are hurt?"

Ai Yuhe frowned slightly and immediately took out a bottle of liquid medicine. "This is a Recovery Potion. Drink it, it should work on you!"

"No need, I'm fine…"

"Boy, just drink it. What's with the nonsense. Once you're healed, hurry up and follow us to capture the Void Falcons. Our time is precious!"

Ling Jiu still drank the Recovery Potion in the end. What surprised him was that, as the fluid entered his body, the wounds on his chest was healing at the speed visible to the naked eye. Ten minutes later, his wounds were fully healed, and he was restored to peak condition.

"Is this the legendary Recovery Potion? It's amazing!"

Ling Jiu was secretly speechless. "Who is this Ai Yuhe, and why does everything she pulls out a rare treasure?"

"Boy, let's go!"

Just as Ling Jiu was being puzzled, he suddenly felt someone grabbing his shoulder, and the next moment, his feet left the ground and flew into the air.

Vooosh!!

An elite!

Even though he had guessed that the middle-aged man was a terrifying elite, it was only at this moment that Ling Jiu realized how strong the latter was!

The man carried both him and Ai Yuhe and flew in the air for so long, yet he felt no fatigue. But instead, he was fast as lightning, and less than half an hour later, he had arrived in the skies above Taibai Mountain.

That's terrifying! One need to know Taibai Mountain was a whole 70 kilometers away from Fengming County!

"He's at least a Level 5 Arcanist! Holy shit! What sort of powerhouse did I run into?"

Just as Ling Jiu was stunned, the middle-aged man's voice rang in his ears. "We've arrived at the top of Taibai Mountain!"

Ling Jiu saw a vast amount of white snow beneath his feet. Taibai Mountain was the highest peak of the Qinling Mountains, and the highest peak of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so the mountain was covered in snow all year long.

The three of them landed on the top of the mountain. A cold wind blew, and Ling Jiu could not help but shudder.

It was just too cold!

The middle-aged man then told him. "See those dead Direbeasts there? That's the bait we have set in advance. If nothing goes wrong, the Void Falcons will be attracted over!"

Ling Jiu looked over and saw the carcasses of several avian-type Direbeasts.

"What you have to do is hide under the bait and wait for the moment the Void Falcons come down to feed, and use your Gravity Arcana to trap them. You can leave the rest to me!" The middle-aged man continued.

"Okay!"

Given he had already taken their stuff, Ling Jiu naturally had no objections. He quickly hid under the bait, and quietly waited for the Void Falcons to come.

"Miss, there should be nothing wrong now!"

The middle-aged man let out a smile. "While this boy can only control up to Quadruple Gravity at most, it is enough to hold the Void Falcons for a second or two!"

"Uncle Lan, it's all set!"

Ai Yue let out an expectant look.

"Miss, let's hide first!" The middle-aged man said. "It's a waiting game from now on!"

Ai Yuhe nodded slightly, and then with a wave of her hand, both she and the middle-aged man gradually disappeared, as if they were never there before.

Time soon passed by, and a quarter of an hour had passed. Just as Ling Jiu was gradually getting impatient, the crisp shriek of birds rang out.

Kweeee…

He then saw several blue-black-bodied avian Direbeasts with two-meter wingspans, and dark stripes covering their wings flying over from the distance.

"It's the Void Falcons!"

Ling Jiu, who was hiding in the ground, breathed a sigh of relief. "Bloody hell, took you lot long enough. Any sooner and I'd be a damned popsicle!"

The few Void Falcons did not immediately rush down to feed, but instead circled around the carcasses for a while, before flying down after making sure that there was no danger.

"Boy, now!"

Baaaam!!

Chapter 26: The Feast of Taotie, Five-colored Wyrm Python

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Boom!

A Quadruple Gravity force suddenly erupted and covered a radius of 10 meters. Under the effect of the Quadruple Gravity, even the air became thicker, and the original light and agile Void Falcons all suffocated slightly, and their speed suddenly slowed down. The gravity… was all-encompassing.

Vooosh! Vooosh!!

A ripping sound tore through the air!

Several flying knives ripped through the air and slammed straight into the bodies of the Vold Falcon. The swarm of Void Falcons all screamed a few times, before all falling onto the mountain top, and after tossing about for a few times, they went still.

"It worked!"

Ling Jiu got out of the ground and saw Ai Yuhe and the middle-aged man, Uncle Lan reappearing, as he walked towards the Void Falcons with a joyful look.

Uncle Lan manipulated his blade, and skillfully dissected the bodies of the Void Falcons, and soon dug out a few white bubbles that looked like fish bladders.

"Miss, it worked!"

The middle-aged man smiled.

"Yes, we finally succeeded!"

Ai Yuhe was even more excited.

"Miss, are you hunting Void Falcons for this?" Ling Jiu looked surprised. "What is that stuff?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask!"

The middle-aged man glared at Ling Jiu.

Ling Jiu smiled and listened to Ai Yuhe's explanation. "This is the Void Bladder, an important organ of the Void Falcon, and it's the most valuable of it as well! Don't just think that a Void Falcon is just a mere Class 3 Direbeast, but it's extremely fast and can zip through the void. It is very difficult to catch!"

"So, the price of a Void Falcon had been speculated all the way to 150 million each, and it's a market where demand outstrips supply. If it weren't for you, we would not have been able to hunt so many Void Falcons, so it is really all thanks to you!"

"150 million per head? That expensive?!"

Ling Jiu was speechless. So the six Void Falcons they had caught earlier was worth 900 million? No wonder they were so generous, because they were clearly making much, much more.

"Brother!"

Ai Yuhe turned her palm and took out a Dimensional Bag. "This is yours, a reward!"

"Oh, how could I?"

While Ling Jiu said that, his hand was not slow as he took the Dimensional Bag into his hand, and laughed. "Are you going to continue to hunt the Void Falcons?"

"No, six Void Bladders are more than enough!"

Ai Yuhe smiled sweetly. "It's time to go back now. Brother, where you want to go? We can give you a ride!"

"Then, send me back to Fengming County! I need to continue practicing!" Ling Jiu said after some thought.

"Okay!"

Half an hour later, the three returned to Fengming County.

"Brother, if you ever go to Chang'an Base City, come and look for me?"

Ai Yuhe took a business card and handed it to Ling Jiu, and then left with the middle-aged man.

Looking at their backs, Ling Jiu could not help but mutter. "What a nice girl. Good figure, pretty face, and good temper. Who knows what sort of bastard will hook such a big fish in the future?"

Immediately after, Ling Jiu took out the Dimensional Bag that Ai Yuhe had given him and started to rummage through it. As he took a gander, Ling Jiu gasped.

The space inside the Dimensional Bag was extremely large, ten times the size of the Intermediate-level Dimensional Bag. That is to say, this was a high-level Dimensional Bag with 10,000 cubic meters of space.

"A high-level Dimensional Bag is worth more than 100 million, this girl sure is generous! However, it's nothing compared to the six Void Falcons I've just hunted for her!"

"There're Direbeast carcasses inside?"

Ling Jiu noticed there were more than a dozen dead Direbeasts inside the bag, and each of the dead beasts exuded a terrifying aura. After just a glance, Ling Jiu felt his heartbeat beating fast. One could imagine, these were no ordinary Direbeast carcasses.

"They are at least Class 4 Direbeasts!"

Ling Jiu was speechless, a Class 4 Direbeast was worth several million, and a dozen of them was worth tens or even hundreds of millions. This gift was really massive.

"I never thought that I'd get these much this trip!" Ling Jiu sighed at his good luck.

Osmium soil worth 500 million!

A high-level Dimensional Bag worth over 100 million!

Direbeasts corpses worth tens of millions!

A proper windfall!

"Even so, it's still not comparable to the six Vold Falcons. They've earned big time!"

The sun was setting to the west, and night gradually enveloped the earth. Ling Jiu found a basement and then blocked the door using the osmium soil. After confirming everything was alright, he started to have his dinner.

Dinner was just a simple meal of compressed biscuits, ham, milk, etc. Ling Jiu was not particular about his food as long as he could fill his stomach.

After dinner, Ling Jiu began to practice the Secret Gene Arcana Techniques, and this time the Secret Gene Arcana Technique is not the Bahamut Absorption Technique, rather, it was the intermediate-level Gene Arcana secret technique, the Feast of Taotie.

The Feast of Taotie deserved to be an Intermediate-level Gene Arcana secret technique, the efficiency of the Gene Arcana absorption was many times more efficient than the Bahamut Absorption Technique. With Ling Jiu using the Feast of Taotie, all of the Gene Arcana within a radius of 100 meters were drawn over and poured into Ling Jiu's body.

If using the Bahamut Absorption Technique was like using a straw to drink water, then using the Feast of Taotie was absorbing Gene Arcana using a straw ten times the size directly into the stomach.

The efficiency between the two was completely incomparable, with a huge gap of ten times. A large number of Gene Arcana were being absorbed into his body at every moment.

"At this rate, it won't take long for the Gene Arcana in my body to reach the level of a Level-Three Arcanist. Can't wait for it!"

Killing Direbeasts in the morning.

Absorbing Gene Arcana at night.

And without him noticing, a week had passed.

"After a week of slaughter, I've killed almost all of the Class 1 and Class 2 Direbeasts in Fengming County, now there are only the two Class 3 Direbeasts left!"

After a week's worth of experience, Ling Jiu had shed some of his immaturity and was a little fiercer, and a murderous aura leaked from his body as his gaze became even sharper.

"Now I should be considered a top Level 2 Arcanist, plus the 50 square feet worth of osmium soil, I should be able to fight with those two Class 3 Direbeasts!"

As he thought of this, Ling Jiu immediately rushed over to the location where one of the Class 3 Direbeasts was, and soon came to a crystal-clear lake.

This was Fengming Lake, one of the most beautiful scenic spots in Fengming County. Unfortunately, after the Direbeast incursion, this place eventually became the habitat of aquatic Direbeasts, and one of them, called the Five-colored Wyrm Python, was the overlord of the Fengming Lake!

"The territorial sense of Direbeasts is extremely strong. especially and overlord-level Direbeasts like the Five-colored Wyrm Python. It will never allow others to wreak havoc in its territory!"

Ling Jiu's eyes flashed and started to cause havoc at Fengming Lake. With his power as a Level-Two Arcanist, everything within a 10-meter radius was within his control. It was easy for him to stir the mud at the bottom of the lake and make some waves.

Whooosh…

The commotion by the shore had finally attracted the attention of the overlord in the lake as a massive snake head came jutting out from the waters, and its cold eyes stared at Ling Jiu.

The Five-colored Wyrm Python… had appeared!

Report chapter

Chapter 27: Mountain Pool, Giant Snapping Turtle.

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Its head alone was the size of a bull, and its five-colored scales, black, red, purple, brown, and green, gleamed with dazzling colors under the sunlight.

It held its head high, as a pair of cold eyes stared at Ling Jiu, with bloodlust and fury in its eyes. It was the overlord of this area, and anyone daring to make a ruckus here was a direct challenge to it.

The Five-colored Wyrm Python twitched its tail and drew a long wave over the lake.

The part where its body was outside the water was already five meters long, and its stout waist was as thick as a barrel. Its muscles were bulging under the scales, allowing no one to doubt its terrifying strength.

"A Class 3Direbeast: The Five-colored Wyrm Python!"

Ling Jiu backed away step by step. Water was its domain, and only by luring it onto shore would he deny the Five-colored Wyrm Python its full combat potential.

Unfortunately, Ling Jiu underestimated the Five-colored Wyrm Python's intelligence, and after it swam to the shore, it did not come ashore. Instead, it stopped.

"It dare not come ashore?"

Ling Jiu lamented, but he then immediately launched an attack. A terrifying gravitational force swept down and instantly slammed into the Five-colored Wyrm Python's body.

At the same time, a large amount of osmium soil flew out from the Dimensional Bag and formed into the giant silver hand that grabbed the Five-colored Wyrm Python.

The waters on the shore were not deep, coupled with the gravitational suppression, the Five-colored Wyrm Python's movement became extremely slow, and was straightaway caught by the giant hand of earth.

"DIE!"

Ling Jiu yelled as he tightened his grip. The giant silver hand then clamped onto the python's head, neck, and other parts like a vice.

Immediately afterward, sharp thorns shot out from the palm of the giant hand and stabbed viciously into the head and neck of the Five-colored Wyrm Python.

Dush!

Dush!

Scarlet blood flowed from the giant osmium hand as the Five-colored Wyrm Python suddenly struggled violently, its waist and tail sweeping around in desperation.

Baaaam!!

A willow was swept in half, and the python tail came sweeping toward Ling Jiu. Seeing that, he immediately sank and hid into the ground.

At this time, there was no need for him to face the Five-colored Wyrm Python's attack head-on. Its head and neck had already been stabbed in thousands of places, and it was only a matter of time before it dies, so he only needed to wait.

"Are you really going to thrash about like that even when you're dying?"

Ling Jiu snorted coldly and attacked the python's head and neck at an even more frenzied pace. The osmium soil was extremely heavy, weighing 20 times more than ordinary sand, and as powerful as the Five-colored Wyrm Python was, it could not break free from the vice.

Dush dush dush!!!

With severe pain biting at it, the Five-colored Wyrm Python thrashed its tail desperately. Sending lake water splashing all over, mud flying and all of the plants by the shore were ripped apart…

Yet, all of its struggles were futile. The Five-colored Wyrm Python's thrashing grew weaker and weaker, and its movement too became less and less, and finally, it went still.

Ling Jiu reappeared on the ground, and with a wave of his hand, kept all of the osmium soil away, revealing the almost-pulped head and neck of the python. It could not be more dead now.

"That took a lot of effort just to end you?"

Ling Jiu felt good, and dragged the Five-colored Wyrm Python out from the lake, and put it into his Dimensional Bag. After all, it was a Class 3 Direbeast, he could not bear to throw it away.

So, he had to take it back whole!

"Now all that's left is that Class 3 Direbeasts in the northeast. I can go back once I'm done killing it!"

Ling Jiu took out his Direbeast Radar, and a striking red dot appeared to his northeast. A red dot represents a Class 3 Direbeasts.

Ling Jiu came to Beishan, the famous A4-class scenic area, the Zhougong Temple was located in Beishan. Unfortunately, Zhougong Temple had long been lost, with its buildings collapsed, and overgrown with vegetation, the entire place was completely reduced into a heaven for plantlife.

Ling Jiu's target this time, the Giant Snapping Turtle was located in Beishan. Snapping turtles usually lived in water, but not this one.

Not only it stayed in Beishan all year round, but it never came into close contact with water, as if it had completely evolved into a landlubber.

Ling Jiu was extremely wary of this Giant Snapping Turtle's abnormal behavior and got secretly even more vigilant.

Any abnormality meant that something was up, and there must be a reason for the Giant Snapping Turtle to stay in the arid Beishan all year long.

"Almost there!"

Under the guidance of the Direbeast Radar, Ling Jiu climbed all the way up to the half-mountain. Suddenly, cool air blew over and made him felt good.

"So cooling?"

Ling Jiu was surprised, only to find there was a small col between the mountains, and hidden inside the col was a pool. Clear spring water flowed from the mountain peak into the pool.

"There's a pool in the half-mountain?"

Ling Jiu carefully moved over. The pool was not big, about half the size of a basketball court. Just as Ling Jiu got close, he felt a bone-chilling aura coming from the pool, and he could not help but shudder.

"What's going on with this pool, it's so cold!"

Just when Ling Jiu was doubtful, an alluring fragrance suddenly came out from the pool and woke Ling Jiu up.

"The hell?"

Ling Jiu turned to the pool and saw the pool water roiling violently. The next moment, a giant turtle shell covered with spikes appeared from the pool, and following that was a menacing-looking head riddled with abscesses.

"The Giant Snapping Turtle!"

Ling Jiu's heart shrank as he took a few steps back.

Its head was large, and the spike-riddled shell on its back was no smaller than a van, with its sharp thorns and abscesses, this Giant Snapping Turtle was full of visual impact.

What makes a monster?

This was a bloody monster true and true!

"How do you even kill a snapping turtle this big, with that big-ass shell?"

Ling Jiu felt a sudden headache. There were two traits that made the Giant Snapping Turtle terrifying, its formidable defense, and horrifying bite force.

The turtle shell's defensive capabilities allowed it to ignore most physical attacks, and its powerful snapping bite made it easy for it to tear an ordinary Class 1 or Class 2 Direbeast into two.

"It'll be tricky to deal with it, but it's not like there's no way. It's very slow!" Ling Jiu's eyes twinkled, and he had a plan in mind.

After staring at Ling Jiu for a while, and seeing Ling Jiu did not continue to close in on the pool, the Giant Snapping Turtle dove back into the pool and had no intentions of leaving it.

It staying put was just what Ling Jiu wanted. He found a suitable spot not too far from the pool and started to dig a hole.

Soon after, a giant pit 20 meters wide and 10 meters deep was formed. Ling Jiu then covered the pit with a layer of topsoil. As long as the Giant Snapping Turtle falls into this pit, it was basically a foot in on death's door.

Ling Jiu returned to the edge of the pool, and with a wave of his hand, one stone after another was tossed into the pool, kicking up waves.

This was a provocation!

A bare-faced provocation!

He wanted to provoke the Giant Snapping Turtle, and lure it out of the pool, and what Ling Jiu did, had most certainly infuriated the Giant Snapping Turtle.

Report chapter

Chapter 28: Killing the Giant Snapping Turtle, Ice-type Arcana

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Snapping Turtle is a temperamental, ferocious Direbeast, and normal snapping turtle would attack after being provoked, much less an evolved form of the snapping turtle?

Not only did they grow larger, but their violent and cruel temperament was also infinitely amplified. After being provoked by Ling Jiu, the Giant Snapping Turtle crawled out of its resting pool without any hesitation.

It wanted to bite and gnaw on Ling Jiu's head to vent its fury!

"Good timing!"

Ling Jiu was secretly excited as he slowly retreated back to the trap. His speed was not fast, and he always kept a two- to three-step distance away from the Giant Snapping Turtle. This way, he could avoid the danger of getting attacked by the Giant Snapping Turtle, but also ensure that it kept on pursuing him.

A perfect distance!

Finally, he came before the trap.

Ling Jiu stepped on the soil, and walked over it without incident, yet, when the Giant Snapping Turtle came over, the entire soil layer caved it, and with a crash, the turtle fell into the pit.

"Haha, it worked!"

Ling Jiu rushed to the edge of the pit. Looking at the Giant Snapping Turtle trapped at the bottom of the pit, he could not hide the excitement in his eyes.

After that, he quickly manipulated the osmium soil and condensed it into an extremely sharp giant rock cone.

"Go!"

With a growl, the rock cone ripped through the air, and fell from the size, smashing hard against the turtle.

"Rawrrrr…"

The Giant Snapping Turtle noticed the rock cone above its head and suddenly became restless. It slammed against the wall of the pit in a frenzy as it tried to escape.

The pit shook violently at the impact, and much soil collapsed into the pit, yet the pit could not be completely cave in.

This was normal. The Giant Snapping Turtle's strength was its defense and biting force. Its strength and speed were average, and it would be strange if it could collapse the pit.

"Die!"

The giant rock cone slammed onto its shell with great precision. A loud bang followed, and the giant rock cone shattered into pieces, and aside from a white mark on the Giant Snapping Turtle's shell…

It was completely undamaged!

"Bloody hell, this shit is damn tough!" Ling Jiu could not help but gasp. "But, even if I cannot pierce your shell, I don't believe I can't smash it apart!"

The osmium soil flew into the air again, and this time condensed into a giant stone bullet.

Bam!

The stone bullet shattered, and the turtle shell was still intact.

"Again!"

After few consecutive shots, the turtle shell still managed to successfully defend against the osmium rock bullets, showcasing how hard the shell was.

However, the strikes were not without effect, the counter-shock produced by each impact still caused irreparable damage to the Giant Snapping Turtle.

Blood seeped out from the Giant Snapping Turtle's mouth, and even from its ears, nostrils, and eyes, it was obvious… that it was wounded!

And the injury was not light!

"Its shell may be sturdy, but its organs may not be so!" Ling Jiu increased the force of impact.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

After over a dozen shots, the Giant Snapping Turtle finally could no longer hold on, and was crushed to death under its own shell, and fell completely silent.

"Done!"

Ling Jiu heaved a long sigh of relief, before slumping onto the ground as he gasped for breath.

Using his Arcana as he did earlier not only consumed his Gene Arcana, but also his physical and mental strength. Now, he did not want to move at all.

After resting for half an hour, and his stamina almost fully restored, Ling Jiu collected the corpse of the Giant Snapping Turtle and went to the icy pool.

"It's impossible for a natural pool to be this cold. There must be something at the bottom!"

At this moment, another refreshing fragrance came from the pool water. Ling Jiu's spirits were immediately lifted, and his fatigue seemed to be somewhat alleviated.

"There must be something in the pool!"

Ling Jiu waved his hand, and a hole was ripped at the edge of the pool. As the pool water rushed out, the water level dropped rapidly.

Earth-element Arcanists were experts in digging through mountains and rocks. For Ling Jiu, breaching the pool to let the water out was but a simple matter.

The water level kept falling.

Half an hour later, the pool bottomed out, and a grass gleaming in cold light, as if it was made out of ice crystals, came into view.

A refreshing fragrance emanated from the grass, and Ling Jiu felt unspeakably refreshed as if all of the exhaustion on his body were swept away.

"It's a rare treasure! It must be one of the treasures recorded in the company mall!"

Ling Jiu did not know what this treasure was, but the microcomputer he brought along had the ability to identify plants, Direbeasts, and treasures. With just a simple shot, the microcomputer would be able to identify the object within three seconds.

Sure enough, the microcomputer quickly identified this ice sculpture-like treasure and then displayed the relevant information.

"Icehollow Weed, a Trioecious plant of the Amaranthaceae species, with a height of 10 to 30cm. The entire plant is made out of ice, and its stem lay prone and rises up. The stem is partially branched, with purple-green or red hues with smooth, alternate leaves. The leaves are ovate or diamond-ovate-shaped…"

"Medicinal value: Intermediate-level treasure, could be made into medicine or consumed directly… with an 80% chance of allowing someone to awaken Ice-element Arcana!"

"Allow someone to awaken the Ice-element Arcana?"

Ling Jiu could not help but take a deep breath, and quickly read through it.

Be it normal people or Arcanist, as long as they take the Icehollow Weed, there is a possibility for them to awaken Ice-element Arcana, which is stupendous!

For an ordinary person without any Arcana talent, the value of the Icehollow Weed was beyond doubt. With just a single Icehollow Weed, they can awaken Ice-element Arcana, and become an Arcanist overnight."

For an Arcanist, it was even more valuable, as who wouldn't want an additional Arcana?

Because having an additional Arcana not only meant a great increase in combat power, but also having one more trump card. Moreover, one's future potential would be greatly increased as well.

Therefore, a treasure like the Icehollow Weed that could allow someone to have another Arcana would absolutely have great value, and the price given by the microcomputer did not undersell the true value of the Icehollow Weed, 5 billion per unit!

"Five billion!!"

Ling Jiu's eyes reddened. "I've struck gold! That's 5 billion!!"

Ling Jiu hurriedly checked the precautions for picking the Icehollow Weed and found that as long as it was placed in a box similar to that of storing jade, or inside the Dimensional Bag is sufficient to protect the medicinal power of the Icehollow Weed to the largest extent…

To be safe, Ling Jiu not only dug out the Icehollow Weed, but also a large patch of soil beneath it, and stored them alongside the Icehollow Weed inside the Dimensional Bag.

"Done!"

Ling Jiu patted his hand. "I'm now carrying stuff worth billions on me, and I've killed all of the Direbeasts in Fengming County. It's probably about a week now since I've left, time to go back!"

That night, Ling Jiu had dinner and a good rest. The next morning, he set off on the journey back to Lantian Base City.

Two days later, he safely returned to Lantian Base City.

Report chapter

Chapter 29: Corpse Inspection, 300 Million in Value

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was exactly four in the afternoon, and there was still an hour before he clocked off work, so Ling Jiu went to the company's logistics department, and took out all of the gains he got from this trip.

Of course, except for the Icehollow Weed, the 50 square feet worth of osmium soil, and the high-level Dimensional Bag, these were all not for sale!

Coincidentally, Li Kai happened to be assigned to the Direbeast Appraisal Division and was learning how to appraise Direbeasts and their corpses from an experienced old appraiser. When Ling Jiu came to the office, he ran into him.

"Ol' Ling, you're back!"

Li Kai punched Ling Jiu. "It had been about ten days from the day you first left until today, I've been worried about you!"

"Well, I'm back now right?"

Ling Jiu smiled: "How's your work recently? Doing alright?"

"Don't even mention it, it's so boring!"

Li Kai looked bitter and said. "You're here to sell Direbeast carcasses right? Come with me, and go to me master directly, no need to queue up!"

"Okay!"

With Li Kai leading the way, the two directly met Li Kai's master, Wang Yun, a senior Direbeast Appraiser who had been with the company for many years.

"Ol' Ling, this is my master, one of the company's top Appraisers!" Li Kai introduced. "Master, this is the friend I talked to you about, Ling Jiu. He has just come back from the wilderness."

"Greetings, Master Wang!"

"Laddie, don't need to be so formal! Come, take your stuff out!" Wang Yun said with a smile.

"Yeah!"

Ling Jiu went to the middle of the workshop and took all of his harvests out. Suddenly, the big workshop was completely filled with Direbeast carcasses and organs as an overwhelming stink of blood rushed over, causing Li Kai and Wang Yun to take a few steps back.

"Bloody hell, so many carcasses!"

Looking at the pile of Direbeast carcasses, Li Kai gawked in shock. "Ol' Ling, how many Direbeasts did you kill again?"

"I don't know, didn't keep count!"

Ling Jiu smiled.

Master Wang had already put on his mask, as well as gloves, and was getting into the flow of appraising. Li Kai hurriedly took a microcomputer to record.

He had to focus when it comes to work, or else he would be scolded by Master Wang!

"The sharp claw of a Class 1 Demonwolf… 4!"

"The sharp claw of a Class 1 Demonwolf… 4!"

"The horns of a Class 2 Trihorn Bull…3!"

"The carcass of a Class 3 Titan Kabutomushi!"

"This is… the carcass of a Class 3 Direbeast, a Void Falcon?"

Master Wang was slowly appraising and when he reached the carcass of a Void Falcon, he was shocked.

After going around the Void Falcon carcass a few times only did he said in amazement. "It's really a Void Falcon, but too bad…"

"Master, what's a Void Falcon?"

He had been tagging along with Wang Yun for a while now, and Li Kai rarely ever saw Master Wang that surprised, and was a little confused.

"While the Void Falcons are Class 3 Direbeasts, they are extremely difficult to catch. Normally, even a Level 5 Arcanist would only eat dust against it. Your friend is very, very lucky, but unfortunately, its most important Void Bladder is gone!"

Wang Yun sighed. "If the Void Bladder was still there, this Void Falcon carcass could sell for about 150 million, now it's probably just eight million!"

"A hundred and fifty million?"

Li Kai shuddered and looked at Ling Jiu in disbelief. "Ol' Ling, where did you get this Void Falcon carcass? You caught it yourself?"

"Do you even need to ask? Obviously, I just picked them up!"

Wang Yun glanced at Ling Jiu. "You have no ability to hunt the Void Falcons on your own, plus the most important part, the Void Bladder of the falcon is gone, so it is enough to say that someone else killed this Void Falcon, and then left the corpse behind, am I right?"

"Sure enough, I cannot hide this from Master Wang!"

Ling Jiu gave a thumbs up. He was indeed an experienced veteran appraiser, and he was on the mark.

"Ol' Ling, you're bloody lucky to pick up such an expensive carcass. My master said just now, even without its Void Bladder, this thing is worth a good eight million! You're rich!" Li Kai looked at Ling Jiu with envy.

"Really? Awesome!"

Ling Jiu scratched his head. "If I remember correctly, there's a total of six of them, doesn't that mean it's a good ten plus million there?"

"Six? F*ck me!"

By the time all of the carcass and organs were appraised, Li Kai's eyes were so green with envy that his eyes were about to pop out.

"Ol' Ling, do you know how much money you've made in this trip alone?"

"How would I know?"

Ling Jiu shrugged.

"According to my master's appraisal, you've earned a total of 62.35 million yuan in this trip alone! God knows how long I have to work to earn that much money?"

Li Kai was very envious. "I suddenly felt that your original choice was so wise, and I… What a fool! Argh, that pisses me off!"

"Stop complaining, I'm not done yet!"

Ling Jiu rolled his eyes. Those were the carcasses of Direbeasts he had hunted, and he had not taken out the Direbeast carcasses that were inside the high-level Dimensional Ring.

These were the good stuff!

"Not done yet?"

Li Kai shuddered and saw Ling Jiu waving his hand as a series of Direbeast carcasses exuding a terrifying aura suddenly appeared in the workshop.

"This is…"

Upon sensing the ferocity coming from the carcasses, Li Kai's face suddenly turned pale, as his body shook uncontrollably.

Wang Yun, who had been calm all these while, also had a big change in his expression as he stared at the dozen of Direbeast carcasses.

"A Class 4 Direbeast, A Burstfang? And that, a Vajra Alligator! My goodness, a Class 5 Direbeast, a Flamestorm Ape King!"

Listening to his Master's burst of exclamations, Li Kai was completely stunned, and even Ling Jiu was at a loss for words.

Even though he knew that the Direbeast carcasses that Ai Yuhe gave him were all high-level ones, he never expected that all of them were of Class 4 and Class 5 Direbeasts. It was terrifying!

Twenty minutes later, all of the appraisals were completed, and Wang Yun had a difficult look on his face. "There is a total of thirteen Class 4 Direbeast carcasses and four Class 5 Direbeast carcasses; the total value is about 270 million!"

"Two hundred and seventy million! Gasp…"

Li Kai could not help but breathe in hard. "Plus the previous 62.35 million, Ol' Ling, you've earned a total of 332.35 million from this trip to the wilderness alone?"

"Don't be envious. This boy was lucky." Wang Yun looked at Ling Jiu. "All these Class 4 and Class 5 Direbeasts carcasses are all very well-preserved, and they were all killed in a single hit. I'm pretty sure it was not you right?"

"Master Wang, your eyes are sharp, I've picked them up, just like the Void Falcons." Ling Jiu said with a smile.

"I think so too, trying to hunt them with your ability is just too difficult!"

Wang Yun did not doubt him. "Your harvest is pretty big this time, and I'll need to get approval from above. Head home first, the results should be out tomorrow morning, and the money will be transferred into your salary card. Just remember to check your balance!"

"Sorry for the trouble, Master Wang!"

Ling Jiu smiled. "Ol' Li, I'll head back first. I'll treat you for dinner tomorrow!"

"Yes, please do! I'll definitely eat until your wallet cries!" Li Kai snorted, his eyes were all green.

Report chapter

Chapter 30: Devolution Potion, Tianci Beaten Up

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The harvest this time around sure was bountiful.

Of course, the biggest gain was not the Direbeast carcasses that were worth 300 million, but rather, the high-level Dimensional Bag, 50 square feet of osmium soil, and the… Icehollow Weed!

"The value of the first two need not be said!"

"The key is the Icehollow Weed!"

"This sort of treasure that could allow someone to awaken their Arcana is worth a lot, and even if they were to appear occasionally, everyone will rush for it, and it is really a case demand outstripping supply!"

However, Ling Jiu did not plan to see the Icehollow Weed. He had a lovely sister at home and planned to let his sister consume the Icehollow Weed and awaken her Arcana.

"Xiaotong will be very happy when she finds out!"

He had not been home for more than ten days now, and Ling Jiu had somewhat missed his father and little sister and could not wait to go home.

"Dad, Xiaotong, I'm home!"

When Ling Jiu got home, he saw his sister sitting on the sofa crying. Ling Jiu could not help but be shocked. "Xiaotong, what's wrong?"

"Brother!"

Upon seeing Ling Jiu, Xiaotong felt like she saw a savior, and immediately rushed into Ling Jiu's arms and cried very hard.

"Okay, okay, don't cry!" Ling Jiu comforted his sister. "Tell me, what happened?"

"Brother, when dad and I went shopping this afternoon, he was taken away by a bunch of debt collectors!"

Xiaotong cried as she retold what happened. After Ling Jiu heard that, a dark aura appeared in his eye. "Those bastards really want to die!"

"Brother, what are we going to do?"

Xiaotong's face was full of anxiety.

"You stay at home, leave the rest to me!"

Ling Tianci had previously opened a small company, and was worth tens of millions, and was considered one of the well-known persons in Lantian Base City. However, six months ago the company declared bankruptcy, and Ling Tianci turned from a millionaire into a pauper overnight.

After his company went bankrupt, and him shouldering huge debts, Ling Tianci had once lost the courage to live, it was only until Ling Jiu awakening his Arcana that he regained hope. He knew that having a son who is an Arcanist, his days would get better and better.

However, what was even sadder was that, before the days got better, his creditors came looking for him first.

Yep, on the same afternoon when Ling Jiu returned, Ling Tianci was taken away by the debt collectors.

Fusheng Debt Collection Company, 3rd floor.

"Mr. Ling, you are doing well heh, your son awakening his Arcana, to being hired by Pangu with a monthly salary worth a million. By your son's grace, you are staying in a villa that I dare not even imagine. Truthfully, I'm really envious of you!"

A big baldy raised his eyebrows as he twiddled two iron balls in his hand. "So, when are you paying back the money you owe to our Mr. Yang?"

"Mr. Zhang, I really have no money now!"

Ling Tianci was tied to a chair. His nose was bruised, his face was swollen, and his hair was disheveled as blood flowed out of his nose. He had obviously been manhandled earlier.

"No money? F*ck you!"

Mr. Zhang suddenly exploded as he grabbed a beer bottle on the table and smashed it onto Ling Tianci's head. As the beer bottle shattered, Ling Tianci screamed and blood mixed with beer foam flowed down his sideburns and onto the ground.

"Repaying debts is a rightful thing to do!"

Mr. Zhang grabbed Ling Tianci's hair and spat, "I'll give you two choices now!"

Ling Tianci was dazed by the smash, and only after shaking his head did he managed to somewhat recover his consciousness.

"Although I'm a broad-minded, magnanimous, accommodating, and tolerant person, I have one shortcoming, that is I hate to see people doing better than me!"

Mr. Zhang growled. "You have a son; I also have a son. Why is my son a hoodlum, taking drugs and c*ke, while yours awakened his Arcana and became a top-society Arcanist?"

"Mr. Zhang… this is all down to luck!"

Ling Tianci said quickly.

"F*ck you and your luck! I hate people with good luck!" Mr. Zhang snorted coldly. "The first option, give this to your son!"

"What is this?"

Ling Tianci's voice trembled.

"A Devolution Potion!"

Mr. Zhang shook the food straw in his hand. "Once he drinks this, even if your son is a dual-Arcana genius, he won't escape the fate of losing his Arcana and becoming an ordinary person!"

"No! No! Absolutely not!"

Ling Tianci shook his head vigorously, and what greeted him was another vicious beer bottle smash by the big baldy.

Smash!

The beer bottle cracked open, and Mr. Zhang grabbed Ling Tianci's hair and said with a grin. "So, you want the second choice?"

"What… What you want?"

"What I want? Mr. Yang had given me a final order, if I don't get the money back today, he'll feed me to the Direbeasts in the wilderness.

Mr. Zhang sighed. "Our Mr. Yang had always meant what he says, so I don't have much leeway!"

"Looking at you like this, it's impossible for you to repay the money today. Since I'm going to die, you can forget about living as well. So, either have your son drink this, or die today!"

"In any case, if I can't get the money back today, Mr. Yang will not let me go, so I have nothing to worry about!"

"Mr. Zhang, I'll pay the money back!"

Ling Tianci's voice was hoarse. "But I warn you, don't even have any ideas on my son, he's an employee of Pangu now, you can't afford to provoke him!"

"Ptui! You dare to threaten me?"

Mr. Zhang smiled in anger. "And I'm not afraid to tell you, so what if your son is an Arcanist? I cannot do anything to him in the base city sure, but I have plenty of ways to end him in the wilderness. Didn't he become a Wild Hunter? Even easier to deal with!"

"Zhang Haitian, you monster!" Ling Tianci roared and rushed forward. "If you dare hurt my son, I'll never let you go!"

Mr. Zhang was taken aback and took two quick steps back, only to find that Ling Tianci was tied to a chair and was unable to move. He blushed and became angry. "F*ck! How dare you scare me, men, beat him up!"

"Yes, Mr. Zhang!"

All of the goons had been impatient, and immediately pounced when they heard that as they punched and kicked Ling Tianci. Just as Ling Tianci was beaten until the point of puking blood, the office door was knocked open violently.

Everyone turned their heads, and saw a young man outside the door, his eyes cold and teeming with murderous intent!

Report chapter

---

Read My Special Ability is Perfect Replication Chapter 31 online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 31: Yang Group, Ling Jiu's Mother

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ling Jiu was furious, extremely furious.

He knew that this world was chaotic with ravaging Direbeasts and rising special abilities. The unequal distribution of power and resources were making this world much more dangerous, more chaotic, and darker than the past life.

There were countless unfair incidents, and the laws could only control the ordinary people. Unfairness and injustice were happening every day.

However, when all these happened to him, Ling Jiu still could not help but feel angry.

"How are you?"

Baldheaded Mr. Zhang was not so friendly when he looked at Ling Jiu. His men, all burly, stopped what they were doing and stared at Ling Jiu.

"F*ck you!"

Ling Jiu roared, striking a punch formed by osmium at Mr. Zhang's chest. Amid the sound of crackling, Mr. Zhang spurted a mouthful of blood before his body crashed into the wall with a loud bang and dropped to the floor.

Mr. Zhang felt his bones had fallen apart. "What are you all waiting for, you trash! Kill him!" he shouted in agony.

Mr. Zhang, he-he is an Arcanist!"

Those burly men realized that Ling Jiu was an Arcanist when they saw a punch, sending Mr. Zhang flying away.

It was an Arcanist, not someone they could deal with.

"An Arcanist?"

Mr. Zhang's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Ling Jiu with a hint of fear in his eyes. "Who are you? What do you want? Don't do anything stupid!"

"What do I want? Take a wild guess!"

As Ling Jiu grabbed in the air, the osmium formed into a giant hand, lifting Mr. Zhang into the air.

Mr. Zhang tried to fight back, kicking his legs frantically, but that did not affect the osmium hand even a bit. He could only watch as he was brought in front of Ling Jiu.

"How dare you hit my dad, you abbreviated piece of nothing!"

Ling Jiu raised his hand and slapped Mr. Zhang in the face, causing the corner of his mouth to tear open. "Today, I am going to make you pay dearly for your stupid actions!"

"You-You are Ling Tianci's son?"

Mr. Zhang's body shuddered. He suddenly became more daring. "I see. It is you, rascal. How dare you show me your attitude. You must have a death wish!"

Knowing who Ling Jiu was, Mr. Zhang was not as scared as before. There was no need to be afraid of a newly awakened Arcanist. Not that he had not dealt with Arcanists before.

Besides, he knew well about Ling Jiu's background: toothless and penniless with no connection of influence. Ling Jiu had just got lucky to awaken his special ability.

So there was nothing to worry about a family like that.

"Death wish?"

Ling Jiu slapped him again.

Piak!

As the slap broke a few teeth of his, Mr. Zhang covered his swollen face with his hand. "How dare you hit me! I will make you pay!"

Piak!

"I pay you all for nothing, you all trash! He is just a rookie Arcanist, so why are you so scared of him? Kill him!"

Those burly men bit the bullet and lunged out at Ling Jiu. They would have flinched when facing other powerful Arcanists. But the Arcanist in front of them was just a rookie, and there was a strength in numbers.

However, as quick as they were, a dozen osmium fists formed and hit them with a series of thuds, sending the dozen burly men flying out backward.

"How could this be possible?"

Mr. Zhang was shocked. He could not believe that Ling Jiu had easily beaten his men, who were all professionally trained fighters. Was Ling Jiu really a rookie Arcanist?

Piak!

While Mr. Zhang was still in shock, Ling Jiu had come down with his slaps again. He was determined to avenge his father. After a continuous series of slapping, Mr. Zhang's face swelled so terribly that he looked like a pig head, half of his teeth falling off.

"Stop-Stop hitting me, please!"

Mr. Zhang was afraid now and quickly begged Ling Jiu. "It wasn't me but Mr. Yang who wanted to screw your dad. It has got nothing to do with me…"

"Mr. Yang?"

Ling Jiu stopped.

"Yes, Mr. Yang! It was Mr. Yang!"

Mr. Zhang pulled a pathetic face. "He asked me to abduct your father here so he could kill you. It's true. It has got nothing to do with!"

"Which Mr. Yang are you talking about?" Ling Jiu asked coldly.

Without waiting for Mr. Zhang's reply, Ling Tianci suddenly spoke. "I knew that it was him. I knew that. He must be the one behind the collapse of the company. I have been right all along!"

Ling Tianci looked a sight, his face swollen and covered in blood. But there was no anger or fear in his eyes, just anguish and at a loss.

"Who is that b*stard, Dad?" Ling Jiu frowned. "Did you just say that the collapse of the company has something to do with Mr. Yang?"

"Don't ask! It has got nothing to do with you!"

Ling Tianci let out a sigh.

"Dad!"

Ling Jiu was not too happy. "That b*stard has caused you so much suffering and hired someone to screw you. I couldn't stomach this without revenge!"

"Stop asking!"

Ling Tianci's tone of voice turned stern. "This is adult business. You don't interfere! Leave me for a while. I have something to talk to Mr. Zhang!"

Ling Jiu was indignant, but he did not want to defy his dad. He spun around and left the office. He would find it out since his dad was not telling him.

"Mr. Zhang, tell Mr. Yang that I will repay every cent I owe him. But please don't harass my son!"

Ling Tianci came up to Mr. Zhang. "Otherwise, he will regret it big time!"

"I will convey your message for sure! I will!"

Ling Jiu and Ling Tianci left Haitian Debt Collection Agency. The father and son spoke not a word until they arrived at their neighborhood. "Don't tell Xiao Tong about what has happened today!" Ling Tianci instructed.

"I know!"

Ling Jiu nodded lightly. "Mr. Yang whom Zhang Haitian talked about must be Mr. Yang of Yang Group, I guess?"

Ling Tianci was startled for a second, then shook his head. "Just don't ask! This is an adult's business. A kid shouldn't interfere!"

"Yang Group of Lantian Base City is a branch of Changan Base City's Yang Group, the president of which is Yang Su, isn't it?" Ling Jiu said as if he had not heard what his dad said.

Yang Su!

Ling Tianci was struck dumb.

"If I remember correctly, Dad, my mom is also called Yang Su. Am I right?"

"Don't tell me that mother of convenience, whom I have never met, is the president of Yang Group," Ling Jiu said half-jokingly.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

Ling Tianci suddenly went hysterical. "How many times have I told you that your mom has long been dead? She has nothing to do with that woman in Yang Group. Don't you insult your mom with that woman!"

Ling Jiu was startled. I was just saying. Is it necessary to get so worked up?

"Don't be a smart aleck and don't interfere in grown-up matters. Follow me home!"

Report chapter

Chapter 32: Level 3 Arcana, Special Contribution

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ling Jiu came from a single-parent family, raised by his father. With little to no memories of his mother, Ling Jiu only knew that his mother had left him when he was small.

Everyone else but him had a mother. Ling Jiu had frequently asked his father why, but the usual response he got was his father's anger. Every time when he mentioned his mother, his father would become a different person, hysterical.

As time went by, Ling Jiu dared not ask anymore. But he knew that his mother's name was Yang Su, and she had gone to Chang'an Base City.

"Chang'an Base City, the Yang family!"

"Yang Su, the president of Yang Group!"

Ling Jiu mumbled to himself. "Judging by Dad's reaction, most likely this president of Yang Group is my mother of convenience!

"The thing is, why did this mother of convenience leave Dad back then?

"Divorce? Cheating? Abandoning her husband and son? Or was it because of the family's adjuration? By the looks of Dad's reaction, the possibility of abandoning her husband and son is the highest!

"I can't believe that this mother of convenience is such a person! No wonder Dad was working so hard to make money, probably wanting to prove something.

"Forget it. I will practice cultivation. So long as I am powerful enough, the questions will be solved automatically!"

The Feast of Taotie came to life, and the Gene Arcana within a hundred yards radius converged and rushed into Ling Jiu's body. The Gene Arcana inside him was getting more vigorous.

Crack!

A sound like the ripping of silk rose within Ling Jiu as the Gene Arcana inside him was unimpeded. It suddenly flew smoother.

Boom!

At the same time, a powerful air emanated from Ling Jiu's body, sweeping around the entire room, making the air sticky and the tables and chairs creak continuously.

"Fooh!"

Lin Jiu could not hold back his excitement. "This intermediate-level Gene Arcana secret technique is awesome. I have actually become a Level 3 Arcanist in a short time!"

Yes.

Ling Jiu had achieved a breakthrough into the Level 3 realm, becoming a Level 3 Arcanist.

When his arcana awakened in two months, he became a qualified Level 1 Arcanist.

When his arcana awakened in six months, he became a qualified Level 2 Arcanist.

Two months.

Four months.

It was a long time.

But after attaining the intermediate-level Gene Arcana secret technique The Feast of Taotie, it just took him slightly over ten days to achieve Level 3. His accretion of strength for the past half-year had helped, but the Feast of Taotie played the most significant role.

"Level 1 and Level 2 Arcanists are lower-level Arcanists!

"Level 3 and Level 4 Arcanists are intermediate-level Arcanists!"

"Level 3 Arcanists: Gene Arcana is pretty solid with a high level of control and shockingly high damage ability of 30 meters!"

"I am finally no longer a rookie!"

The next early morning, Ling Jiu came to the office to see Luo Jia, the manager.

"You are back!"

Luo Jia did not look surprised at all at seeing Ling Jiu. She had heard news about and been surprised by what Ling Jiu had hunted in the wild yesterday.

"Yeah, I am back!" Ling Jiu nodded in acknowledgment. "Could you help me take a look at something, Miss Luo?" He got down to business at once.

"What is that?"

Luo Jia raised an eyebrow.

As Ling Jiu took out the Icehollow Weed, a terrifying chill mixed with a hint of refreshing scent spread in the air.

"This is…"

Luo Jia's pupils contracted. "The Icehollow Weed!" she blurted out.

"You have sharp eyes, Miss Luo!"

Ling Jiu let out a smile.

"I can't believe that it is really the Icehollow Weed!"

Luo Jia took the thing and studied it carefully.

After a long while, she reluctantly handed the Icehollow Weed back to Ling Jiu. "I can't believe that you have got this thing!"

"I have got lucky to stumble upon it!"

"If I were to sell this Icehollow Weed to the company, how much would the company offer, Miss Luo?" Ling Jiu asked frankly with a smile.

He had thought of giving the Icehollow Weed to his younger sister but changed his mind yesterday.

His younger sister was in her first year in high school. Since she still had two years to go before year three, she was not in a hurry to awaken her arcana. Ling Jiu was thinking of selling the Icehollow Weed, in exchange for something he needed to enhance his strength.

An increase in strength meant making more money. With more money, he could buy other awakened arcana stuff on the Pangu Mall.

"The Icehollow Weed's market price is 5 billion dollars, which is the price that the company will pay for. But this thing is a rare treasure of heaven and earth. If you auction it off, you could make over a billion dollars!"

Luo Jia suddenly changed her tone. "But if you sell it to the company, you will not only make the money but also get certain contribution points, which aren't measurable in money terms!"

"Contribution points?"

Ling Jiu got hooked.

"The company's mall has many things such as advanced Gene Arcana secret techniques that money can't buy. You know that, right?"

"I know!"

Ling Jiu nodded. "Money can't buy the advanced Gene Arcana secret technique and many other treasures of heaven and earth. Only those who have made special contributions to the company would get that!"

"Special contribution—those are the contribution points I've been talking about!"

Luo Jia continued, "In fact, not only the advanced Gene Arcana secret technique and treasures of heaven and earth but also many other special items that only contribution points can buy!"

"I see!"

The penny dropped on Ling Jiu.

"These special items will earn you contribution points!"

Luo Jia continued. "Just like this Icehallow Weed of yours. If you sell it to the company, you will get fifty contribution points on top of the 5 billion dollars!"

"A ratio of 1 to 100 million?"

Ling Jiu was quietly shocked; this ratio was way too low. But considering that the contribution points were extra from the company, it was barely acceptable.

"What can 50 contribution points buy, Miss Luo?" Ling Jiu asked.

"See for yourself!"

Luo Jia took out her mobile phone and tapped on it, then put it in front of Ling Jiu. The screen showed a search window with a search filter stating 'items of less than 50 contribution points,' and various strange items listed below it.

Generally, there were two types of items: a treasure of heaven and earth, and a potion.

Coldstar vine: an intermediate-level treasure of heaven and earth. It helps increase absorption of the Gene Arcana by two times the speed. Price: 20 contribution points.

Dragon blood potion: intermediate-level potion. It strengthens stamina. A bottle of Dragon Blood Potion increases bodily strength by several folds but subject to individual conditions. Price: 50 contribution points.

Scorchburst Tinder: an intermediate-level treasure of heaven and earth. It is a naturally nurtured special flame, the temperature of which could reach 4,000 degrees and melt most of Earth's materials. Price: 50 contribution points.

Ordinary arcana potion: intermediate-level potion. It awakens the arcana of ordinary people. Not to be used by arcanists. Price: 20 contribution points.

Thunder fruit…

After reading for a while, Ling Jiu had got ants in his pants. These things were good stuff. He wanted them all if possible.

"See? You will get the best deal by selling things like the Icehollow Weed to the company because what you will get is worth more than 5 billion dollars!"

"Deal! I will sell it!"

Report chapter

Chapter 33: This Is a Serious Crime, Rock Giant

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

An Icehollow Weed could not only sell for 5 billion dollars but also get 50 contribution points worth 5 billion dollars. That meant the Icehollow Weed was worth 10 billion dollars.

So why not sell it?

After Luo Jia fiddled around for a while, Pangu Mall had an additional transaction: on November 25, 2051, Ling Jiu sold an Icehollow Weed.

Ling Jiu checked his personal account and found that 5 billion dollars had really come into his account.

The 50 contribution points were deposited in his personal center on the company's official website. Ling Jiu could use the 50 contribution points to buy special items anytime he wanted.

"Thank you, Ling Jiu!"

Luo Jia suddenly broke into a smile just when Ling Jiu was overjoyed looking at his savings.

"Thank me?"

Ling Jiu was dumbfounded.

"I bought the Icehollow Weed that you just sold for 50 contribution points! That means it is mine now!"

"You bought it, Miss Luo?"

Ling Jiu was a bit surprised, but with a smile on his face. "As long as you like it, Miss Luo. After all, I have sold it to the company!"

"It makes sense. But I still have to thank you. Probably you don't know how important this Icehollow Weed is to me!"

Luo Jia was thrilled. "I am a Fire-type Arcanist. Because of my single arcana ability, my combat strength just passes muster among my peers! But with this Icehollow Weed, I would gain the Ice-type Arcana to boost my combat strength tremendously!"

"Congratulations, Miss Luo!"

Ling Jiu said with a smile.

"I owe you one, Ling Jiu. I will never say no to you if you come to me and need my help in the future!"

Luo Jia was forthright.

A thought suddenly came to Ling Jiu's mind. "I didn't want to bother you, Miss Ling. But something has been bothering me lately!"

"Eh? I am all ears!"

Luo Jia raised an eyebrow.

"This is the story!"

Ling Jiu told of what happened last night, and Luo Jia spoke. "This is no small matter if you ask me. It depends on what you want to do!"

"You mean…"

"If you want to teach those people a lesson, do it in private. I can introduce a few friends to you and accompany you to Yang Group. By then, you can do whatever you want!"

Luo Jia looked at him knowingly. "If you want to teach them an unforgettable lesson, you can take a legal recourse! Taking your dad for no reason and making a personal attack is an act of abduction. Abducting the family members of our Arcanists is a serious crime!"

"A serious crime?"

Ling Jiu was struck dumb.

"We, the Arcanists, have contributed much in fighting the Direbeasts for humanity. To let the Arcanist hunt the Direbeasts without having to worry about their families, the governments around the world have introduced laws prohibiting illegal, cruel treatment of Arcanists' families!"

"Illegally harming the families of the Arcanists is a serious crime. Anyone caught doing that could be sentenced to ten years in jail!" Luo Jia said sternly.

"Zhang Haitian is just a nobody. I have taught him a lesson!" Ling Jiu said. "The culprit is Yang, who hasn't got her dues. This really pisses me off!"

"So you want to take legal recourse? Let us do it this way: I will ask the company's legal and investigation department to collect evidence in Haitian Debt Collection Agency!"

Luo Jia let out a faint smile. "Even Yang will have to face legal consequences as long as we have found evidence!"

"Miss Luo, I heard that this Yang came from the Yang family of Chang'an Base City?" Ling Jiu said.

"So what if she is from the Yang family?"

Luo Jia still had that faint smile on her face. "Anyone, even if it is the head of the Yang family, who persecutes the Arcanists' families will have to take responsibility for their action!"

Speaking of that, Luo Jia looked knowingly at Ling Jiu. "Pangu doesn't become the top arcana company for nothing. So long as you work hard and hold a certain power here, many people will play by your book!"

Ling Jiu got the message and nodded slowly. "Understood, Ms. Luo!"

"Keep it up, Ling Jiu!"

Luo Jia gave him a word of encouragement. "If I am not mistaken, you are now a Level-Three Arcanist, right? Awesome! Remember this: the more powerful you are, the more you will own. Strength is above everything in this world. Other things are secondary!

"Like yesterday's incident, the best outcome for an ordinary Arcanist is to get compensated in monetary terms and case closed. But for me, I will make the culprit pay a high price!"

"Thank you, Miss Luo. I understand!"

"Go now!"

"An Icehollow Weed could have so many uses. It really lives up to its reputation as the treasure of heaven and earth!"

Ling Jiu lamented as he left Luo Jia's office, knowing deep down that if not for the Icehollow Weed, Luo Jia would probably not help him.

There were many Arcanists in Pangu, and he was a nobody here. He knew he did not have any influence to make Pangu mobilize its resources to take action against the general manager of another company.

"What Luo Jie said is right. Power comes only with strength and only power could only protect families!"

Ling Jiu was thinking of this as he came to the company's data center. He needed to consider how he could turn his money into strength.

"There are two things in my bucket list: The advanced Gene Arcana secret technique and the ultimate cold weapon Sands of Annihilation. It is a shame that these two things cost 10 billion dollars. No way I could afford them!

"So I could only get the second best!

"I already possess the intermediate Gene Arcana secret technique and advanced cold weapons. What I lack now is the Arcana manual. This thing is only one billion dollars. I can totally afford it!"

Ling Jiu tapped open the Ultimate Earth-type Arcana Manuals menu.

"Meteorite Fall: individual-type attack ability, using Earth-type Arcana to create a meteorite-like rock shot to launch an attack so it will create a meteorite impact-like effect, the damage ability of which is 20 times that of the ordinary rock shot!

"Desert Burial: The Ultimate Earth-type Arcana Manual, group-type attack ability…"

Half an hour later, Ling Jiu decided.

"Rock Giant: Formed by rocks, Rock Giants have not only super muscular strength but also impressive defense ability. They could attack in a group or individually, complete with attack and defense capabilities. Their overall strength is 20 times that of the ordinary Earth-type Arcana!"

"I will take this!"

Ling Jiu chose the Rock Giant, tapping the 'buy' icon, submitting his order by entering his address and telephone number, then confirming his payment to complete the transaction.

"It will be delivered by this afternoon. Awesome!"

Ling Jiu continued to browse the mall.

"Gene Arcana, checked! Arcana manual, checked! Arcana weapons, checked! Advanced Dimensional Pocket, checked! It seems like I lack nothing now!"

"Wait a second! I still lack transport!"

Ling Jiu might have only ventured outside once, but he was deeply aware of the importance of transport.

Fengming County was only slightly over 60 miles away from Lantian Base City. But it took him two days to go there, and for a return trip, it was a four days' journey. It just wasted too much time.

He had only stayed in Fengming County for seven days, yet the journey took four days, which meant he was on-the-road half of the time. That was too slow.

"What kind of transport should I get? Maglev motorcycle or maglev car?

"The cheapest maglev motorcycle cost 15 million dollars and the cheapest maglev car cost 80 million dollars!

"Eighty million is a little too expensive!

"With the money, strength, and position that I have right now, a motorcycle is just right. Driving an expensive one will only attract thieves and robbers in the wilderness, which is something I cannot afford to happen!"

Ling Jiu tapped the maglev motorcycle selection, and a vast collection of maglev motorcycles, the prices of which started from as low as 10 million dollars up to 80 million dollars, appeared in front of his eyes.

There were hundreds of models for his selection.

Ling Jiu filtered his choices, limiting the prices to between 15 million and 20 million dollars, leaving only a dozen models for his selection.

"FACE: All carbon fiber frame, max output: 800KW, weight: 269 pounds, max speed: 373 mph, power source: solar, charging time: 1 hour, max range…

"LB 12…"

Chapter 34: The Flying Ride, an Egoistic Dad

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At last, Ling Jiu chose a maglev motorcycle with a 20-million-dollar price tag.

This ride had a max power output of 600KW, a weight of 242 pounds, and a maximum speed of 310 miles per hour. It had a pretty high performance-to-price ratio.

It was worth noting that solar energy was the primary energy source of this world.

Not that the world had other choices. As the wilderness had reclaimed the hydroelectric dams, wind farms, oil wells, and other energy sources, the world lost its power source.

What was left was only solar energy.

Thirty years of research and development had pushed solar energy technology to an advanced level of development. Solar power was widely used by various industries.

Just like this Cheetah Model 3 maglev motorcycle that Ling Jiu had bought, it ran on solar power. It could recharge its battery while running during the day, and it took just an hour to recharge when it was stationary. It could fly over 620 miles in just a single charge.

This excellent mileage stemmed from the fact that it was flying in the air. It also showed the excellent range of solar-powered batteries.

After placing the order, Ling Jiu finally bought the 20-million-dollar maglev motorcycle for 14 million dollars. By then, it was noon. Ling Jiu and Li Kai left the company and filled their faces at a restaurant before they parted.

In the afternoon on the same day, the Arcana manuals and maglev motorcycle that Lin Jiu ordered had arrived. After taking the delivery, Ling Jiu could not wait to check them out.

First, it was the maglev motorcycle, the cool frontend of which looked like a running cheetah with a high-tech vibe.

There were no wheels under the platform but just a layer of super-elastic rubber materials.

This rubber material had excellent elasticity. It protected the motorcycle from damage when the motorcycle hit the ground abruptly.

Shrouded inside the rubber layer was a super-conductive magnet, which was the power source of the motorcycle. It interacted with the Earth's magnetic field, using the principle of the magnet where the same poles repel each other to make the motorcycle fly.

It was love at first sight for Ling Jiu. He used to be a car enthusiast in his past life. But monetary constraint limited his choices; he could only afford a cheap model to quench his interest.

Little did he expect that he could afford to own the legendary maglev motorcycle in this life. How could he not be excited?

"Try it out?"

As Ling Jiu hopped onto the motorcycle, a pleasant voice came from the dashboard. "Hello, my honorable master, welcome to Pangu Cheetah Model 3 maglev motorcycle. I am your safety assistant. How would you like to call me?"

This motorcycle had an AI—artificial intelligence—system, just like the smart home system in his mansion.

"Xiaojiu!"

"Thank you for the name, Master!"

Xiaojiu, the AI, continued. "My honorable master, please allow Xiaojiu to introduce the functions of the AI system!

The system is divided into five major modules: AI Driving System, Ai Navigation System, AI Safety System, AI Self-Diagnostic System, and AI Remote Vehicle-Control System!"

"AI Driving System…"

"AI Navigation System…"

Ling Jiu was very pleased with the personalized AI system of the motorcycle that could drive itself, navigate itself, self-diagnose, take care of its safety, and remote control itself, just like the fiery motorcycle in the sci-fi movie Ghost Rider.

Following that, he went into the settings, such as setting his biometric thumbprint, facial-recognition, voice, and language settings. And he went on for a test drive.

"Left hand for altitude control!"

"Right hand for speed control!"

"Left foot for braking!"

"Right foot for reversing!"

Having gotten a rough understanding of how to handle the motorcycle, Ling Jiu applied a slight force with his left hand and the motorcycle lifted off with a low hum.

He twisted the left hand to keep the motorcycle rising until 20 meters from the ground, higher than the mansion before it stopped rising.

Then, Ling Jiu twisted the right handlebar, and the motorcycle sped off at warp speed at once.

The flight was steady without a trace of bumpiness, which was something unmatched by land-bound vehicles.

"Brake!"

"Make a turn!"

"Speed up!"

Ling Jiu excitedly test-drove his new ride for the remaining day. Unlike the vehicles he had driven in his past life, riding a maglev motorcycle was an entirely new experience; the thrill of flying was indescribably fun.

After all, he was flying for real.

"Fun!"

"Absolutely fun!"

"Woo-hoo!"

Before Ling Jiu's excitement could last long, the security personnel in the neighborhood came up to him.

"Driving a vehicle is not allowed in the neighborhood, sir. Please stop immediately!"

"Driving is not allowed? Fine!"

There was nothing Ling Jiu could do about it. So he went home indignantly, then parked his ride in the redundant garage, which obviously had found its purpose from now on.

Once arriving home, Ling Jiu found that his dad had been and was still busy with something since this morning.

Looking at his dad, whose back was facing him, Ling Jiu went over after a moment of hesitation. "Hey, Dad!"

"What's up, son?"

Ling Tianci looked back. The wound on his face had not fully healed yet, his eyes bloodshot from staring at the computer screen for too long since this morning.

"I have made some money after going to the wilderness last time—"

Ling Tianci interrupted him before Ling Jiu could finish. "It doesn't matter how much you have made. Those are your hard-earned money. Keep it for yourself!"

Ling Jiu forced a smile. This father of convenience had got a big ego. "Could you please listen to what I have to say? It is not much, just about five billion dollars. I have used one billion and left with four billion dollars!"

"How—how much? Five—five billions?"

Ling Tianci's heart skipped a beat, his eyes wide open. After being in business for over ten years, he set up his own small company and the most money he had in his life had never exceeded 100 million dollars. Yet Ling Jiu had made 5 billion dollars by just making a trip to the wilderness?

You have got to be kidding me!

"You heard it right: it is five billion dollars!"

Ling Jiu repeated himself. "I have everything I have wanted: the Gene Arcana secret techniques, Arcana manual, Dimensional Pocket, weapons, and transport. I don't need that money for now. You can use it if you want to!"

"How can I?"

Ling Tianci declined without even thinking. But Ling Jiu was adamant. "Don't reject this so quickly. I know you haven't given up and want to give it one more shot. You can take the money and treat it as a loan or my investment!"

"Son!"

Ling Tianci's eyes reddened.

At last, he still declined Ling Jiu's generosity. As he said, no matter how much Ling Jiu had made, Ling Jiu got it with his sweat and blood. As a father, he was not as shameless as wanting to take his son's hard-earned money.

"Don't worry, Son. I have contacted a few friends. They all are interested in investing in me. As long as I work harder, I am confident of making it!"

"All right, I will leave you to it. If you face any problem later, my offer still stands. You are my father; my money is your money!"

"You are my good son!"

After the conversation with his dad, Ling Jiu returned to his room to study the Rock Giant manual.

He wanted to master this Ultimate Arcana manual as quickly as he could, elevating his combat strength and returning to the wilderness.

He loved going to the wilderness where he could hunt the Direbeasts and enjoy the thrill of making big money.

There was only one word to describe these feelings: fun.

Report chapter

Chapter 35: Adrenaline Rush, Rampage Black Bear

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The General Manager's office, Yang Group.

"That was what happened, Mr. Yang!"

Bald-head Mr. Zhang stood in front of a handsome young man in a suit, bowing his head respectfully, his eyes filled with a sense of reverence.

The handsome young man knocked on the table and laughed suddenly. "Surprise, surprise! That abandoned b*stard of yesteryear have become somebody! Is the sun starting to rise from the west?"

Mr. Zhang stood there respectfully, not daring to say anything.

"Leave me now!"

The handsome young man suddenly waved his hand.

"How about the debt, Mr. Yang?"

"Leave it for now. You don't have to worry about the rest. I will handle it myself!"

"Yes, Mr. Yang!"

Bald-headed Mr. Zhang turned and was about to leave. Right then, the handsome young man took out a pistol and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Mr. Zhang froze before dropping to the floor, the floor drenched in his blood. As the handsome young man pressed a button on the table, two bodyguards came in at once.

"Mr. Yang!"

"Clean it up!"

"yes, Mr. Yang!"

After the two bodyguards dragged Mr. Zhang's body away, the handsome young man's face suddenly turned hideous.

"I don't need trash like you, who couldn't even handle a minor matter like this. Not to mention I have to tie up the loose ends for you!"

While speaking, the handsome young man made a call. "Huohua? Help me kill someone!"

"Name?"

"The target is a Level 2 Arcanist and an employee of Pangu. I can kill him, but the price is one hundred million dollars!"

"Deal!"

In the following days, Ling Jiu did not go to the wilderness but stay home to cultivate his strength.

He studied The Rock Giant in the morning, practiced how to control his arcana in the afternoon, and absorbed the Gene Arcana at night.

He led a routine life every day, seizing every opportunity to practice. His Gene Arcana started to develop, his control of arcana matured, and his strength increased.

Three days had passed since then.

Ling Jiu decided to go out this evening to buy some good-quality direbeast meat and some other ingredients. Coming back, he and his dad cooked together. When his younger sister came home from school, the food was served on the table, and the family of three sat together having their dinner.

"Are you going to the wilderness again, Brother?"

Seeing the sumptuous meal on the table, his younger sister had guessed it, her expression collapsing.

"Yeah! I have been cultivating for quite some time at home. My strength has increased, and I have to train my combat strength in the wilderness!"

Ling Jiu took a mouthful of veggies before explaining with a smile.

His younger sister pouted. "Could you please not go? Isn't our life comfortable now? Why do you have to go risking your life in the wilderness?"

Ling Tianci also looked at his son with worries in his eyes. He had not forgotten the incident at Haitian Debt Collection Agency and was afraid that Mr. Yang would come after his son.

"I can't!"

Ling Jiu shook his head. "My goal is to become the Number One Fighter on Earth. How could I be complacent? Don't worry, Dad. You know what I am capable of. I will live!"

The next day, Ling Jiu rode his beloved ride to send his younger sister to school, and then he left.

"Ling Xiaotong, your elder brother is so cool!"

"That is a maglev motorcycle! The cheaper maglev motorcycles cost at least ten million dollars in the market. Your brother is damn rich!"

"Xiaotong, does your brother have a girlfriend?"

Ling Jiu rode his maglev motorcycle, activated the stealth mode, and flew in the air.

The wind howled past him. He did not have to worry about traffic rules, bends, or someone running into his path suddenly.

He could speed up as much as he wanted. These feelings of adrenaline rush and unrestraint were so fun, thousands of times more thrilled than the street-racing in his past life.

"As free as a bird and unrestrained as a fish. This is the worst and also the best era. I want to stand on the crest of a wave, becoming the master of this era!"

Flying at warp speed on the maglev motorcycle, Ling Jiu had left Lantian Base City toward the northwest.

"Xiaojiu, activate the auto-navigation system. Destination: Taibai Mountain!"

"Yes, Master!"

Half an hour later, Taibai Mountain was within view. Ling Jiu quietly alighted and tucked away the maglev motorcycle.

Taibai Mountain, even the entire Qin Mountains, were roaming with Direbeasts. Had he gone forward in such a conspicuous manner, it would attract the unwanted attention of the powerful Direbeasts. The last thing he wanted was to be surrounded by a group of Direbeasts. So he figured that he had better go on foot.

"Let's start here!"

Ling Jiu had changed into a more comfortable sports suit. Setting his eyes in a Direction, he departed toward Taibai Mountain with the Direbeast radar activated.

Below Taibai Mountain was an endless plain. There were sporadic villages on the plain, but these places had become the Direbeast's lairs.

"One hundred and thirteen Class 1 Direbeasts!"

"Twenty-nine Class 2 Direbeasts!"

"Four Class 3 Direbeasts!"

"Kill these four Class 4 Direbeasts first, then only continue to Taibai Mountain!"

Half an hour later, Ling Jiu found the first Class 3 Direbeast.

It was an ant the size of an ox, body red and covered in bright-red scales. Its teeth looked like scissors glinting in a cold light, and it stood on six long legs.

"It is a Class 3 Direbeast, Terror Ant!"

This Terror Ant did not have a body-size advantage compared to other Class 3 Direbeasts. But Ling Jiu did not want to underestimate this beast. Ants were famous for their strength, especially an ant of this size definitely had an incredible level of strength.

Why was this ant called Terror Ant?

Because it ranked top in terms of strength among all the ant species. It was definitely the most outstanding among the Class 3 Direbeasts.

"Shadowform!"

Ling Jiu faded into a shadow and quietly approached the Terror Ant, which was eating the corpse of an ox-type Direbeast. Its scissor-like teeth were so sharp that they could easily cut its prey into shredded meat before fressing.

The Terror Ant did not notice that Ling Jiu was approaching as it continued to feast.

"Very good!"

Ling Jiu left the state of Shadowform and smacked the ground. "Earthen Spikes!"

Sharp rock jutted out from the ground suddenly and pierced into the belly of the Terror Ant. The earthen spikes attacked so quickly and sharply that blood spurted out of the Terror Ant's belly to the tearing sound of its skin.

The Terror Ant shrieked, stomping its feet on the ground as it tried to bounce up. Right then, a giant hand formed by soil appeared.

Bang!

The giant hand came down at once, swallowing the Terror Ant, which became motionless.

"This might have involved some trickery, but at least I killed the Terror Ant!"

Ling Jiu came in front of the Terror Ant. Looking at the dead Direbeast, he was pleased with his performance. "After becoming a Level 3 Arcanist, my control of the Earth-type arcana is definitely more skillful and smoother. Killing a Class 3 Direbeast could not have been easier!"

Ling Jiu kept the corpse of the Terror Ant and moved on to the next lair of a Class 3 Direbeast, which was an evolved black bear.

Standing at over five meters with a bloated layer of fat beneath the thick black hair, the black bear had a pair of half-meter-long fangs growing out of its mouth, its paws as large as a dustpan. It was vicious, muscular, and violent.

"It is a Class 3 Direbeast: Rampage Black Bear!"

Judging by the name, Ling Jiu knew that this thing was a violent-type meaty tank.

Indeed.

The Rampage Black Bear was not only physically strong but also superb in defense and speed. Its abilities were well-rounded with almost no weaknesses. It was a nasty Class 3 Direbeast.

Seeing this Rampage Black Bear, Ling Jiu became excited. "Just nice to test out my Rock Giant!"

Report chapter

Chapter 36: Super Corn, Internecine

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Boom!

Within a 30-yard radius, rocks and soil went up into the air before powerful energy gathered the materials toward Ling Jiu.

His legs and belly.

His hands and chest.

At last, it was his head.

Ling Jiu turned into a ten-meter-tall giant made of rocks in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

The rock giant stepped out, running toward the Rampage Black Bear not far away. The ground shook violently as he ran as if the earth were wailing.

Roar!

The Rampage Black Bear was alarmed. It stood on two and pounded its chest with loud thuds while roaring angrily at the rock giant.

"Come one! Let's square it off!"

Ling Jiu raised his palm and smashed at the Rampage Black Bear. At ten-meter tall, the Rock Giant was double in height and crushingly more imposing compared to the five-meter Rampage Black Bear.

The Rampage Black Bear dodged the attack, then smashed its paw at the Rock Giant's right leg. The Rampage Black Bear was much quicker than the clumsy Rock Giant.

Boom!

Rocks and dust flew into the air as the Rock Giant staggered in its feet.

Before the Rampage Black Bear could feel pleased with its achievement, the Rock Giant had come down with another blow.

The Rampage Black Bear quickly dodged, but not entirely as the Rock Giant's hand smashed its hips.

The hips of the Rampage Black Bear crumpled at once at the sound of the cracking of bones.

Roar!

The Rampage Black Bear let out a howl of agony as blood and feces oozed out of its lower body. The Rock Giant had crushed its vertebrae, femur, and innominate bone.

"One more time!"

The Rock Giant raised its hand and struck down.

The Rampage Black Bear disappeared under the palm, all its bones were crushed, blood and minced meat flowing out of orifices. It could not have been more dead than this.

Rocks were dropping, and soil was flying.

Ling Jiu returned to his human form. Seeing the Rampage Black Bear that had been smashed into a pile of meat, he poked out his tongue with astonishment.

The Rock Giant was so powerful?

This was a Class 3 Direbeast here.

It was crushed to its death just like that?

Ling Jiu suddenly saw the Ultimate Arcana manual under a different light. At 20 times the strength of the ordinary arcana, this ability was no joke.

"So I can challenge the Class 4 Direbeasts now? Should give it a try if the opportunity arises!"

Ling Jiu kept the corpse of the Rampage Black Bear, then followed the direction shown by the Direbeast radar toward the lair of the third Class 3 Direbeast.

Ten minutes later, he came to a village.

The village was in ruin, with vegetation almost completely reclaiming the streets and buildings. A vast piece of the cornfield was to the east of the village.

The corn here had obviously evolved. Growing at seven to eight meters in height, the corn formed a vast area of corn forest.

The kernels of the corns on each leafy stalk were big and juicy. Ling Jiu looked on in amazement. "This purely wild evolved corn will probably sell a high price!"

All vegetables and grains of this world came from the organic farm.

It had high production capacity, and the produce looked fresher and better, but they tasted nothing like the crop growing in the ground in his past life.

Ling Jiu opened the micro PC and started to identify these evolved corns.

Super Corn: after undergoing an evolution, this plant from the poaceae has a straight stalk and no branches. It grows as tall as 6 to 10 meters. The internodes at the base have aerial roots. Its leaves have veins and are flat, wide, and linear-lanceolate…

Super corn is a highly valuable food, containing a high level of nutrients, which are 5-10 times that of rice and wheat, and rich riboflavin. It is beneficial to the human body. Price: 100 dollars per 500 grams.

"So expensive!"

Ling Jiu exclaimed quietly. Before his time travel, the corn price was one dollar per 500 grams. This super sweet corn was 100 times more expensive.

Unbelievable.

"It must taste very good judging by its price!"

Ling Jiu searched around. He chose the more good-looking corns, as he intended to bring it back for his dad and younger sister.

He had no intention of harvesting all the corn. As expensive as this crop was, it did not worth more than the Class 3 Direbeast at the same weight. Since there was limited space in the Dimensional Bag, he could not take whatever he saw.

"The third Class 3 Direbeast is right in the cornfield's east, not far away from here!"

Ling Jiu followed the direction and moved ahead.

As he was getting close, the breath of Direbeasts was too hard to ignore. Just then, a sinkhole suddenly formed under his feet.

With nothing supporting his weight, Ling Jiu plunged at once. In that split second, he performed a Shadowform Arcana.

The next second, he turned into a shadow. When he finally landed slowly on the ground, he found himself inside a deep hole.

The hole was full of sharp and thin spikes. If not for his Shadowform Arcana, he would have ended up dead like a porcupine.

"Damn it! Who dug this trap?"

Just when Ling Jiu was fit to be tied, he heard noises outside the pit and two people appeared.

One was a stubble-faced, middle-aged man, carrying a long saber on his back. The other had a pointy mouth, ape-like chin, a skinny, shifty-eyed, middle-aged man.

"Finally, something has walked into it after so long! Damn it, I almost ran out of patience!"

The two were excited. When they came to the pit and looked down, they found nothing. the stubbled man was stunned. "Why is the prey?"

The skinny man guffawed. "Fret not! How could there be no prey when the trap has been triggered? It must be hiding somewhere!"

"Hiding?"

The stubbled man breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is the prey, Bro Liu?"

The skinny man did not answer but just looked down at the bottom of the pit with a smirk. "Don't pretend in front of me, kid. I know you are down there!"

There was no answer from the pit.

"Still pretend, eh?"

The skinny man smirked again. "Since you are not coming out, then forever don't come out! Brother Wang, fill the pit back!"

"You got it!"

The stubbled man had no hesitation as earth from both sides of the put rose and was about to pour into and bury the pit.

"Hold on a second!"

Ling Jiu called out, coming out of his state of Shadowform as he appeared at the bottom of the pit.

"There really is someone down there!"

The stubbled middle-aged man's eyes brightened up.

"At least you are smart enough!"

The skinny, middle-aged man sneered. "If you don't want to die, throw your Dimensional Bag up here, kid! We will rescue you out of here! Otherwise, you have got to stay at the bottom of the pit forever!"

"Who are you guys? Why ambushed me?" Ling Jiu shouted.

"We kill the Direbeasts. And we will not show mercy to a lost Arcanist like you!"

The skinny, middle-aged man looked at Ling Jiu as if he was an idiot. "As you know, killing an Arcanist is so much more rewarding than hunting the Direbeasts!"

"Cut the cackle! Hand over your Dimensional Bag!" the stubbled man shouted.

"I see!"

Ling Jiu had figured it out.

When he browsed the forum earlier, there were many posts warning of the danger in the wilderness, that one had to watch out for human Arcanists more than the Direbeasts.

Humans were much smarter, greedier, and more cunning and dangerous than the Direbeasts.

Why did hunters in the wilderness have such a high fatality rate? Some of them were killed by the Direbeasts, and some of them were killed by their own kind.

Obviously, these two people were those Arcanists who engaged in the monkey business here.

"As Level 3 Arcanists, why do you two have to resort to such a dirty tactic? If so, I will not have any more hesitation."

"Dragon Almighty! Kill!"

Chapter 37: Six Times of the Gravity Force, Teleportation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At first, Ling Jiu was thinking of sounding them out. If the two dug the pit just for hunting Direbeasts, they would not kill him since he had only fallen into it accidentally.

But now…

Ling Jiu had disappeared from the pit.

"Where is he?"

"Where has he gone?"

It shocked the stubbled man and the skinny man. The next moment, they felt the ground under their feet trembling.

Following immediately, earthen spikes jutted out, piercing at them like lightning.

"Not good! He is an Earth-type Arcanist!" The skinny man's expression changed. "Quick, Brother Wang!"

"Get the hell out of my sight!"

The stubbled man hissed as he stomped his foot on the ground. The earth stopped trembling and the earthen spikes disappeared instantly. He was an Earth-type Arcanist, too.

"Thanks, Brother Wang!"

The skinny man said. But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the sky suddenly turned dark. He looked up at once and saw a giant hand smashing down at him.

"Brother Wang, help me—"

Boom!

The giant hand came down quickly and smacked the stubbled man before he could react to it. Amid the sound of the cracking of bones, the two died an instant death.

Ling Jiu reappeared. With the snap of a finger, the osmium giant hand turned into a quicksand, rose and surrounded him.

The stubbled and the skinny men lay dead on the ground, all bones crushed, bodies nearly smashed into meat pies by the osmium giant hand.

"Trash! You two were just looking for trouble, trying to kill me with such a level of strength!"

Ling Jiu spat, then found a stick to rummage through their bodies. It did not take long before he found two Dimensional Bags.

"Heck! Even if these two Dimensional Bags are empty, I will still gain!"

Ling Jiu took out a tissue paper and wiped the blood from the Dimensional Bags. After taking a glance, he broke out in a smile.

These were intermediate-class Dimensional Bags with a thousand cubic yards of storage space. Each of them was filled with the corpses of various Direbeasts.

Besides, there were many other things, too.

"How many people these two guys have robbed?" Ling Jiu lamented. He tucked away the Dimensional Bags. Those contents could wait. His priority was the Class 3 Direbeast.

Two days later, Ling Jiu climbed to the top of the Taibai Mountain, which was the destination of his trip.

That was right.

His target was none other than the Void Falcons that he had hunted before.

These Direbeasts could fly at high speed and traverse the void, extremely difficult to catch. But he just could not resist them—they were valuable.

The corpse of a Void Falcon worth 150 million dollars.

This would be the most valuable Class 3 Direbeast Ling Jiu had ever hunted.

"Combining the use of the Gravity Arcana and teleportation, I may stand a chance to hunt the Void Falcons. It is worth one hundred and fifty million dollars! How could I not give it a shot?"

Yup.

Another arcana of Ling Jiu was teleportation, which was a Dimension-type Arcana. This special ability allowed Ling Jiu to appear in another place in the blink of an eye. It was the third arcanum that Ling Jiu cloned.

That meant, until now, Ling Jiu already possessed four arcana, namely Shadowform, Earth Manipulation, Gravity, and Teleportation.

He came to the spot where he last hunted the Void Falcons, put the bait in place, then quietly concealed himself.

What he was doing right now was the same as last time. The only difference was, he had to hunt on his own this time.

The chilly gale was howling past the mountain, making the temperature plummet to its lowest point at the peak. Ling Jiu was hiding in the snow, lying in wait patiently. Half an hour had passed and there was still no trace of any Void Falcon.

"Damn it! There is not a soul here, and it is freezing cold here!" Ling Jiu shivered. "I will have to take a break if there is no Void Falcon in half an hour!"

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

And twenty minutes had passed.

Just when Ling Jiu was running out of patience, shrills were heard coming from the air.

Ling Jiu's heart missed a beat as he looked up and saw a Void Falcon appear in the sky.

It had obviously spotted the bait on the peak and was now circling in the air, unwilling to leave.

The competition in nature was fierce. Animals risked their lives to hunt for food. They were rarely choosy when it came to food, and would not give up easily. So when this Void Falcon spotted the bait on the peak, it of course did not want to pass it up.

"Come down! Come down, baby!"

As if Ling Jiu's prayer was answered, the Void Falcon finally descended after circling in the air for a while. It folded its wings and landed in front of the bait, then tore the corpse of the Direbeast with its sharp beak. It was obvious that the bird was hungry.

"This is the time!"

Ling Jiu would not want to miss this opportunity. He willed in his mind and a gravity force six times the normal force engulfed an area of 20 yards in radius.

Yes. It was six times of gravity force.

After becoming a Level 3 Arcanist, Ling Jiu could control as high as six times the gravity force, which was a lot more terrifying than before.

The Void Falcon staggered on its feet. It wanted to spread its wings to balance itself.

The next moment, a shadow appeared.

It was none other than Ling Jiu. He held a sharp alloy dagger in his hand and stabbed it into the eye of the Void Falcon at lightning speed.

As he pulled out the dagger, the blade was covered in blood.

The dagger had pierced through the eye with blood splattering everywhere.

The Void Falcon shrieked in pain and flapped its wings violently. Agitated by the sharp pain, it wanted to fly away from this place.

It could escape death as long as it could fly. But in an environment where the gravity was six times higher, flapping the wings was hard enough. Let alone getting away.

Squish! Squish!

After being stabbed a few times, the Void Falcon stopped struggling, becoming motionless, quiet, and dead.

"Woo-hoo! One hundred and fifty million dollars!"

Ling Jiu clenched his fists in excitement.

This was easy!

This was pleasurable!

This was how money was made!

How he wished he could play a disco song to vent his excitement. But he knew that this was not the time. This was just the beginning. The real challenge had yet to come. He needed to hunt more Void Falcons.

Ling Jiu tucked away the body of the Void Falcon, covered the blood, then went into hiding again. He had a good start. Next, he wanted to keep the momentum going.

Half an hour.

One hour.

A second Void Falcon came as expected.

"Six Times of Gravity Force!"

"Teleportation!"

Squish!

He killed the second Void Falcon.

"Three hundred million dollars!"

"One more time!"

The night fell without him knowing. After working hard for a day, Ling Jiu came out to the peak to take in some fresh air, then went underground again.

With no intention of leaving the mountain tonight, he dug a hole in the ground and spent the night there. Tomorrow would be another Void Falcon hunting day.

He had brought a waterproof cushion and a sleeping bag, good enough for him to spend a night here.

"I have hunted four Void Falcons today. Not half had at all!

"Together with the two intermediate-class Dimensional Bags earlier, I am making a gain of one billion dollars!

"One billion? What a coincidence!"

Report chapter

Chapter 38: Class 4 Direbeast, Unsolicited Guests

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The next morning, while Ling Jiu was immersed in cultivation, loud shrills alerted him. He looked up and instantly saw six Direbeasts fighting in the air.

Five were the Void Falcons, which Ling Jiu had been familiar with. The other one had a wingspan of ten meters and a black body. Its steel needle-like feathers stood erect, its pointed beak and sharp claws glinting under the sun.

"It is a Class 4 Direbeast, Blackquill Eagle!"

Ling Jiu watched with bated breath. "Do all Direbeasts come out to hunt at this time of the day? I had been waiting for half a day yesterday and there were only four Void Falcons. Now all five comes at once? There is a Blackquill Eagle, too!

There was a furious fight.

Five Void Falcons against one Blackquill Eagle. Taking advantage of their speeds, the Void Falcons moved swiftly like phantoms. In one moment they were here and the next they were gone. The Blackquill Eagle was almost pinned down with no opportunity to fight back.

But when looked carefully, he found that those Void Falcons could not even pierce through the thick black feather of the Blackquill Eagle, let alone, hurting it. Its black feather was too tough to beat.

"This bird really lives up the reputation as a Class 4 Direbeast! Except for its movement that is slower than the Void Falcons, it was far more superior in every other way! Those Void Falcons would be in deep shit if struck by its claw!"

Probably the attack had angered the Blackquill Eagle; it suddenly shrilled. The burst of a powerful sound wave created ripples in the air.

The sound wave hit those Void Falcons as if a bat had hit them, their movements froze with blood oozing out of their ears.

Seizing this opportunity, the Blackquill Eagle appeared in front of a Void Falcon. It struck with its claws, tearing the Void Falcon in half. As blood splattered and feathers fell, that Void Falcon plunged to the peak.

"This is brutal!"

Ling Jiu watched on and was left speechless. That shrill a while ago had caused a ringing in his ears. He felt as if his head was going to explode. Was this the mightiness of Class 4 Direbeasts?

What happened to that Void Falcon shocked the remaining four. They shrilled, fleeing with tails tucked between their legs before disappearing into the horizon.

The Blackquill Eagle let out a victorious shrill before landing beside the corpse of the Void Falcon to enjoy its fruit of victory.

After watching the fight from the beginning till the end, Ling Jiu could not help but curse in his mind.

Those birds fought to the death for the bait. Now that the winner had emerged, but no one bothered about my bait anymore. Great!

Close, but no cigar! Damn it!

Ling Jiu cussed in his mind. It was all the fault of this Blackquill Eagle! It is the stirrer! If not for this bird, I would have hunted one Void Falcon, at least! Damn it! There goes my one hundred and fifty million dollars!

How about… teaching it a lesson?

Ling Jiu faded into a shadow and approached the Blackquill Eagle one step at a time from behind to avoid being detected.

He was silent. Dead silent.

At last, he came behind the Blackquill Eagle.

The feathers of this Blackquill Eagle are overly tough. The dagger won't do the job!

This is it, I going for it!

Meanwhile, the Blackquill Eagle was having a feast.

A terrifying pressure that was as heavy as a mountain suddenly came down on the Blackquill Eagle.

Its feathers puffed as the Blackquill Eagle flapped its wings, wanting to lift off. But the six-time gravity force was no joke.

Despite its robust muscles and power wings, it found it nearly impossible to lift its body, which was now six times higher than its usual weight, into the air. It felt its wings heavy, and it was staggering.

"This is the time!"

Ling Jiu seized this opportunity at once. Pouring out 50 cubic yards of osmium soil to form a giant hand, he caught the Blackquill Eagle and squeezed.

"Sand Binding Coffin!"

Crack!

A series of bone-cracking sounds came with blood seeping out from the osmium-soil giant hand. The Blackquill Eagle's struggle gradually subsided.

Ling Jiu withdrew the osmium soil and released the Blackquill Eagle. The bird had been crushed into a pie, its bones broken and blood spurting out of its orifices.

But it was still not dead yet. It tried to move its now mushy wings, trying to fly away.

"This thing is tough!"

With the wave of his hand, Ling Jiu turned the osmium soil into a rock, with which he smashed the Blackquill Eagle's head. This time, the Blackquill Eagle could not have been more dead.

"Phew!"

Ling Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. During the brief battle with the Blackquill Eagle, he had gone all out, exhausting his Gene Arcana, feeling as if his body had been hollowed out.

Battling a Class 4 Direbeast was no joke.

"I need a break!"

Ling Jiu exhaled a few times, got to his feet, and tucked away the corpse of the Blackquill Eagle. The next moment he knew, a high-pitch sound came as quick as lightning from the air. His heart missed a beat, and he quickly bounced a step back.

Thuck!

A sharp alloy bolt pierced through the air and hit the spot where he stood a split second earlier. The tail of the bolt exposed in the air was still vibrating and buzzing from the powerful kinetic momentum. It was not difficult to imagine how much energy the bolt had carried.

"B*stard!"

Ling Jiu broke out in a cold sweat. Lucky for him that his reaction was quick enough. Otherwise, this bolt would not have hit the ground but him.

"How dare you!"

Ling Jiu was furious as he saw a maglev MPV was hovering in the distance, and standing on the roof was a figure, aiming a bow made of alloy at him.

"A maglev MPV?"

Ling Jiu squinted at the maglev MPV, which was a type of maglev vehicle, the prices of which varied. But even the cheapest model started from 80 million dollars.

The maglev MPV in front of his eyes was definitely the most expensive model because this was a Safewell Alpha Twin-Engine Prestige Edition, which was sold for 1.3 billion dollars on Pangu Mall.

"Who the hell is he?"

Ling Jiu quietly raised his guard.

Right then, the maglev MPV flew toward him slowly before coming to a complete stop not far away. As the door of the maglev MPV opened, six burly men in black emerged from within.

The last person who came out was a woman. She was tall, blonde-haired, but with an exquisite oriental face.

Standing at five-feet-nine on a pair of straight long legs, this woman had an hourglass figure and was sexy, rivaling even the top models.

The face of an angel and the figure of a devil; probably this applied most aptly to this woman in front of him.

"Is this the peak of Taibai Mountain?"

The woman took off her sunglasses and scanned the white snowy mountain. Beside her, a middle-aged woman took a down jacket out of the vehicle and put it on the first woman.

"Yes, it is, my lady!" the middle-aged woman replied.

"So the Snowdragon Bile shown in the photo is here?" The tall woman waved her hand. "Let me take a look at the photo!"

"Yes, my lady!"

Chapter 39: The Killers Become the Killed

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Yang Yushan took the micro PC. While looking at the photo on the screen, she glanced at the surroundings. Before long, a smile spread across her face.

"We have found the Snowdragon Bile. Let's get over there!" After Yang Yushan said so, she walked back to the maglev MPV.

The middle-aged woman shot a glance at Ling Jiu who was not far away and nodded at a bodyguard in black. That bodyguard got the message and went toward Ling Jiu.

"What do you want?"

Ling Jiu quietly raised his guard when he saw the bodyguard in black walking toward him. The bodyguard approached and started to attack Ling Jiu.

His right hand moved as quick as lightning, grabbing at Ling Jiu's throat. The grab came so quickly with so much force that Ling Jiu's throat would be snapped if caught.

"How dare you!"

Ling Jiu disappeared from the spot as a murderous intent rose within him. The bodyguard in black missed and was surprised.

The next moment, his expression changed as he felt a powerful wind come from behind him. Before he could dodge, he was hit hard on his back.

Puke!

The bodyguard in black spurted a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward. Before he even hit the ground, Ling Jiu had come to the spot where he was about to land and performed a flying kick.

Crack!

The kick hit the bodyguard's chin with a loud and crisp cracking sound. His chin was broken, and he could not help but cry in pain. Blood was oozing out of his mouth.

"What the hell?"

The bodyguard's cry had alerted Yang Yushan, the middle-aged woman, and the remaining five bodyguards, who were about to board the vehicle. They all looked back.

"What is going on?"

Seeing that bodyguard lie on the ground with blood oozing out of his mouth uncontrollably, the middle-aged woman quickly explained in a whisper as Yang Yushan furrowed her brow.

"Clean it up!" Yang Yushan instructed the middle-aged woman after hearing what she said.

She got into the maglev MPV without sparing a glance at Ling Jiu.

"Five of you, kill him!"

The middle-aged woman said, pointing at Ling Jiu.

"Understood!"

The five bodyguards nodded their acknowledgment, then lunged toward Ling Jiu.

"How dare you hurt our man! You must have a death wish!"

A bodyguard hissed with a throwing knife in his hand. As he twisted his wrist slightly, the throwing knife shot out in a flash toward Ling Jiu's throat.

The throwing knife pierced through the air at lightning speed with a series of high-pitch swooshing sounds. No ordinary Arcanists could dodge this move.

Yet Ling Jiu was no ordinary Arcanist. Before the throwing knife came near, he magically disappeared from the spot and reappeared behind this second bodyguard.

A dragon-like punch suddenly struck.

Bam!

This bodyguard puked a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying out.

"Not good!"

"This guy isn't any ordinary Arcanist!"

"Let us go up at once!"

It shocked the other four bodyguards to see what had happened. They attacked at once. One of them spurted fire like a dragon from his mouth at Ling Jiu.

Another one glared at Ling Jiu with a pair of crimson lasers shooting out of his eyes.

Yet, another one waved his arm, releasing as many as a hundred wasps from his sleeve.

These wasps looked hideous, their hair standing on end as they swarmed toward their target.

The last person smacked his hands on the ground, sending the earth trembling as if there was an earthquake.

The four bodyguards were Arcanists of Fire, Laser Eyes, Wasp-Control, and Earth Manipulation. Judging by their combat strengths, they were at least Level 2 Arcanists.

"Had I been an ordinary Arcanist, I would have probably died, been killed by your all to silence me on the peak of Taibai Mountain today. But I—"

Ling Jiu disappeared again with a hiss.

Boom!

Fire Dragon and Laser Eyes hit the snow, blasting a massive pit in the ground with snow within a few yard radius instantly vaporizing.

"Where is he?"

The four bodyguards' expressions changed. They stood in a circle and started to look for signs of Ling Jiu. Their tacit understanding of each other showed they were professionally trained.

"As Arcanists, instead of protecting humans and hunting the Direbeasts, you willingly become the stooges! You all are the scum of the Arcanists. Shame on you all!

Ling Jiu's voice rang through the mountain peak. "I am going to kill you all today!"

"Six times of gravity force!"

Boom!

Six times of gravity force came down on the four bodyguards, who were unsurprisingly being pinned to the ground. No exception.

The next moment, the massive hole suddenly appeared in the ground, swallowing the four bodyguards.

The ground closed up afterward.

Blood spurted out of the ground as if some children were having a peeing competition.

"Trash!"

Ling Jiu looked over at the last bodyguard standing on the roof of the maglev MPV, who was still holding a bow and loading a bolt. But Ling Jiu was too quick; he did not manage to shoot in time.

All he could do was to watch Ling Jiu kill all his five mates.

Right now, this bodyguard was as frightened as he was surprised. He felt a chill run up his spine as if a prehistoric monster was eyeing him.

"It is your turn now!"

Ling Jiu stepped out, and when he reappeared, he was already on the roof of the maglev MPV, gripping at the bodyguard's right hand that held the bolt. "Was it you who tried to shoot me with a bolt just now? Very well!"

"Sir-Sir!"

This bodyguard's body and voice shivered. "Please-Please, spare my life!"

"Spare your life? Who had spared my life?"

While speaking, Ling Jiu grabbed the alloy bolt and stabbed it into the bodyguard's temple.

The bodyguard fell from the roof down to the snowy mountain below with a thud. This muffled sound sounded as if a hammer had hit the two occupants' chests inside the vehicle, their faces pale.

At first, they thought that Ling Jiu was just a nobody. They wanted to kill him so no one would leak their conversation. Little did they know that Ling Jiu was a killer.

They had just shot themselves in the foot.

"My-My lady, what should we do now?"

The middle-aged woman shivered, feeling the urge of nature's call inside her.

"Run!"

Yang Yushan was calmer than the middle-aged woman. She grabbed the control stick and pushed it forward.

Broom!

The maglev vehicle lifted off before disappearing from the spot in a flash of light. Ling Jiu did not see that coming and was thrown off the vehicle's roof.

"Trying to flee?"

Ling Jiu landed on the ground. Looking at the maglev MPV flying away, he vanished from the spot. When it reappeared, he was already 30 yards away.

He disappeared again, then reappeared.

After performing teleportation twice, he had come inside the maglev MPV cabin.

"Where are you two going?" Ling Jiu said faintly.

"Aah!"

Seeing Ling Jiu appear beside them like a ghost, the middle-aged woman screamed in fear. She could no longer hold back the urge of nature and wet herself in the pants.

Yang Yushan shuddered, and with great difficulty, she turned to look at Ling Jiu in disbelief.

"For all I know, I have never offended you all before. Why did you want to kill me?"

Ling Jiu spoke. "Am I hateful to you, or is it you all who are wicked, unfeeling of killing people?"

Report chapter

Chapter 40: Snowdragon Bile, Level 4 Arcana

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Every world never lacked haughty idiots who looked down on the weaker ones. These people committed homicide as if others were ants under their feet.

Evidently, Ling Jiu had met them today.

He had obviously done nothing.

He had obviously never met them before.

He had obviously never messed with them.

Yet, they somehow wanted to kill him!

What were they if not idiots?

Had it not been for my strength, I would have died for nothing today!

Ling Jiu lamented in his mind. He hated these two people in the vehicle. They were the idiots.

"What-What are you trying to do?"

The middle-aged woman shivered, her face pale. "We come from the Yang family of Chang'an Base City. This lady here is Yang Yushan, the daughter of Yang's fourth wife. The Yangs would not let you go unpunished if you dare to hurt her!"

"The Yang family?"

Ling Jiu burst into laughter. "What a small world! A guy with the surname Yang messed with me two days ago. And now another Yang wanted to kill me. Interesting!"

"Who are you, really?"

Yang Yushan turned to look at Ling Jiu.

"What is your relationship with Yang Yuting?"

Ling Jiu asked back without answering the question.

"He is my elder brother!"

Yang Yushan said coldly.

"I see. No wonder you are a retard. It turns out that you are the younger sister of a retard!"

Ling Jiu nodded slightly. "I am blaming you for what Yang Yuting had done to me. You are going to die today simply because you have wanted to kill me. It has nothing to do with him!"

"Kill me? I dare you!"

Yang Yushan's expression changed. "If you dare to touch me—"

Squish!

Before Yang Yushan could finish, a rock punctured her forehead. Her pupils dilated as she looked at Ling Jiu in disbelief.

"My-My lady! You killed the lady?" The middle-aged woman's face pale.

"So what if she is from the Yangs? The one I killed is you people, the Yangs! I will not hesitate to kill anyone if the Yangs dare to mess with me again!"

After speaking, Ling Jiu disappeared from the cabin. The maglev MPV flew forward after losing control before crashing into a mountain with a violent explosion.

"Are I and the Yangs destined to clash? Or is it the Yangs are the hateful ones?"

Looking at the firework of the explosion of the maglev MPV, Ling Jiu spat, "No matter what, I hate this family!"

Ling Jiu checked the micro PC he took down from the vehicle. If he had not misheard it, Yang Yushan had mentioned something about the Snowdragon Bile.

What was that?

After a long while, Ling Jiu broke out in a smile.

The Snowdragon Bile: an intermediate-level treasure of heaven and earth. Growing on high altitude terrains like this snowy mountain, it can enhance Gene Arcana. A rough estimate is that a Snowdragon Bile could enhance Gene Arcana by 5 years.

"Five years of Gene Arcana!

"What difference does it have from the internal strength-enhancing elixirs mentioned in the martial art novels?

"I need to find it!

"I must find it!"

Ling Jiu was excited. If he could find a Snowdragon Bile, he could very well attain Level 4 in his cultivation in the shortest time.

He quickly browsed through the photos in the micro PC and compared them with the surrounding environment to start his investigation.

Not long after, Ling Jiu had zoomed in to the location of the Snowdragon Bile. Without wasting more time, he quickly headed toward it.

Half an hour later, he came to a remote dead ground on the northern slope of the snowy mountain. There, he found a few feces-like black stuff.

"Are these things the Snowdragon Biles?

Ling Jiu squatted down, carefully examining the black 'feces' as he compared them with the photos on the monitor screen.

They looked like mushrooms, black, their bodies made up of intertwining black silks. At about 1.2 inches in diameter, they looked like umbrellas. There were countless miniature scales on the surfaces, their roots as red as blood, even the rocks where they grew on also the same bloody red.

"Everything matches perfectly!"

"These-These are the Snowdragon Biles!"

"One, two… five!"

"There are five! Five!"

Ling Jiu's eyes brightened up. "I am rich! I am rich this time! The price of a Snowdragon Bile is four billion dollars. There are five here, and that is 20 billion dollars!"

"Pluck them all and get the hell out of here!"

Ling Jiu checked what he needed to be aware of in harvesting the Snowdragon Bile. When he harvested them, he dug them out together with the rock where they grew on.

After that, he left at once.

It was nearing last light when Ling Jiu came to Linyou County 60 miles away.

Linyou County was surrounded by mountains, which completely encircled the little county town.

Various plants grew in the county town. As this vegetation had formed a unified area with the vegetation in the mountain, it was hard to notice Linyou County from above.

It was said that Linyou County was the most secret place in Hua Country.

The purpose of Ling Jiu's coming to Linyou County was simple: Direbeast hunting.

He had just come out for a short while and was no in a hurry to go back. As Taibai Mountain and even the area around the Qin Mountains were no longer safe, the secretive Linyou County was the most suitable place.

"I will put up a night here. Tomorrow, I will continue to hunt the Direbeasts!"

Ling Jiu found a shop hidden under the vegetation and used the osmium soil to seal the surroundings. After making sure that it was safe, he took out the five Snowdragon Biles.

"A Snowdragon Bile could enhance Gene Arcana by five years. Let me take one to see how good it is."

Thinking of this, he chose the thickest, biggest, and blackest Snowdragon Bile and swallowed it entirely.

One minute. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes had passed, yet the Snowdragon Bile had still not produced any effect.

"Did I just eat a fake Snowdragon Bile?"

Just when Ling Jiu was quietly in doubt, warm energy suddenly rose within him. Starting from the abdomen, it spread in all directions. His body started to heat up.

The lower abdomen, middle abdomen, upper abdomen…

The chest, neck, brain…

At last, it was the legs and hands.

At the same time, Ling Jiu felt a pure and vast amount of Gene Arcana appear in his lower abdomen and spread to his limbs.

He was shocked and quickly performed a Feast of Taotie to absorb this pure Gene Arcanum.

Obviously, this was the purest Gene Arcanum. It rushed into his body and combined with his own Gene Arcanum until they became one.

Ling Jiu had lost track of time. When the process ended and he regained his consciousness, his perception felt unprecedentedly clear, his body was energized, and his legs, hands, and muscles strong, as if there was limitless energy.

What excited Ling Jiu most was the shrinking of the Gene Arcanum to less than one-tenth before. This was not because the Gene Arcanum had reduced, but because it had liquified.

"Liquified Gene Arcanum. I am a Level 4 Arcanist through-and-through!"

He could feel his arcana's radiative range had increased. He could manipulate the gravity and earth within a hundred-yard radius.

"Liquified Gene Arcanum!"

"One hundred yard radius of arcanum radiation!"

"I am a Level 4 Arcanist now!"

Ling Jiu clenched his fists to feel the unlimited energy and fully charged Gene Arcanum in his body. He was excited.

Level 4 Arcanists were the defining line between intermediate-level and advanced-level Arcanists.

The stronger the arcana were, the more damaging the power was. A Level 4 Arcanist could destroy an entire battalion of fully-armed army. So it was also known as the Thousand Kills.

Yup.

The Thousand Kills.

"With my current level of strength, I am considered a top figure in Lantian Base City already!"

"I suppose the company should promote me to an important post once I return."

Ling Jiu mumbled to himself. The arcana combine was a commercial enterprise, but it was also an arcana institution, where strength was always the priority.

The higher the strength, the higher the position and authority. This was something no one could dispute.

There were few Level 4 Arcanists in the Pangu Arcana Combine of Lantian Base City. A figure like Luo Jia, the general manager, was only a Level 5 Arcanist.

Report chapter