Spatial-Type Gene: Flicker

Li Qinghe gave Lu Yuan a pat on the shoulder and smiled.

"Off you go. You get one day off on weekends — remember to come back home."

The other three recommenders each had a few brief words for Yang Ping and the others.

Feng Zhou led all four students to an administrative office first to handle enrollment. The process was quick and simple — not much different from registering as a member of the Gene Warrior Association. A scan of the Gene Battle Mark, information entered, records filed. Done.

Once the paperwork was finished, the staff handed each of them a black card.

"These are your student cards. Your credits are stored on them. You'll need them to use training equipment, purchase Transcendent Genes, and buy other items within the school. Please take good care of your card — if you lose it, come to us and we'll issue a replacement."

Lu Yuan glanced at the display:

> *Name: Lu Yuan. Student ID: 1410082. Year 1. Credits: 100.*

He and Yang Ping handed their cards to Feng Zhou, who produced a device, swiped each card against the electronic door lock, made a few adjustments, and returned them.

With the enrollment complete, Feng Zhou led the four of them out of the office.

As they walked, Feng Zhou covered the key points about the Talent Camp.

"The most important thing you need to understand is credits. In the Talent Camp, credits are currency. Your recommenders probably mentioned it — the camp holds plenty of rare and valuable things you'd struggle to find anywhere else: Transcendent Genes, natural treasures, Gene Armaments, Body Techniques, and more. But everything here costs credits. During your time in the camp, beyond advancing your cultivation, the thing you should be thinking about most is how to earn credits."

He continued: "Let me go over the standard channels. First: cultivation advancement. Every time you break a Gene Lock, you receive a credit reward. Breaking through from Warrior Rank to Battle Master Rank earns 1,000 credits. Battle Master Rank to Battle General earns 10,000. Battle General to Battle Venerable earns 100,000."

At that, Feng Zhou let his gaze sweep over the four of them, and a sly grin crept across his face.

*That grin had a distinctly predatory edge to it.*

A chill crawled up Lu Yuan's spine.

"Second: the Combat Power Rankings. Each month, you get one free session in the Simulation Room for combat simulation. Based on your performance, we compile a monthly rankings board. First place earns 10,000 credits. Second and third earn 5,000 each. Fourth through tenth earn 3,000. Eleventh through one-hundredth earn 1,000. One-hundred-first through three-hundredth earn 500. Three-hundred-first through five-hundredth earn 100. Five-hundred-first and below earn 10. Rankings reset monthly, with rewards paid at month's end."

Lin Wei's brow furrowed. "Teacher, that doesn't seem fair. Our cultivation is so low — against senior students in a combat simulation, there's no way we'd hold our own."

"I agree with Lin Wei," Min'er added.

Feng Zhou waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. The simulated opponents are calibrated to your cultivation level — the rankings only measure same-level combat power. You're supposed to be talents. You shouldn't be losing to people at the same level, should you?"

Understanding settled over the four of them. Yang Ping and the others felt the pressure of that expectation take root. Lu Yuan, for his part, wasn't particularly concerned.

"Third: missions. The Talent Camp issues missions irregularly. Completing them earns credits, though the rewards vary. Most missions run on the harder side, though there will be some suited to where you are — whether you can grab one depends on your luck. In addition to the irregular missions, the camp also releases special missions during particular periods, the kind where everyone participates. How those work depends on the specific situation at the time."

"Those are the three standard channels. There are also some less conventional methods you'll probably encounter before long — wager duels and the like."

Feng Zhou continued: "In terms of classes, our approach is relaxed. You're all Gene Warriors — you'll spend a lot of time inside the Land of Origin, and training there is worth several times what you'd get out in the real world. So there are no mandatory classes. That said, when instructors open courses, you'll be notified in advance and can attend if you wish. My recommendation is that you go when you can — the instructors here range from Battle King to Battle Sovereign level. They have more than enough to teach you. You'll also each be assigned a personal mentor for any cultivation questions along the way."

"Now — this is a six-year program. Starting from today's enrollment, you have six years. Reaching Battle General is the minimum requirement for formal graduation."

Yang Ping asked, "What happens if someone doesn't make it to Battle General?"

Feng Zhou smiled. "In Elder Yu's words: anyone who can't reach Battle General in six years isn't a true talent and can't call themselves a student of this Talent Camp. So it wouldn't count as graduation — it would be classified as forced withdrawal. No diploma issued."

Six years to reach Battle General was genuinely difficult. The deeper you pushed into the Gene Chain, the more demanding each tempering became, and breaking Gene Locks only grew harder at higher levels.

Yang Ping and the others felt that weight settle onto them. Lu Yuan wasn't bothered.

*I'll be fine.*

Feng Zhou went on: "That said, don't overthink it. With your level of talent, graduation shouldn't be a problem as long as you put in the work. We've even had students reach Battle Venerable before their six years were up." He glanced at Lu Yuan with a grin. "Li Qinghe being one example."

He led them onward toward the residential area.

The dormitory zone was quiet and orderly — rows of small buildings nestled among greenery. Lu Yuan looked around, genuinely surprised.

*This is almost on par with Li Qinghe's place.*

"Our student population is small," Feng Zhou said. "Including the four of you, we're at only 930 students. So the housing is comfortable — four students per building. Your dormitory is this way."

He brought them to a stop in front of one of the buildings.

"Building 112 — male dormitory. Two rooms are vacant. Lu Yuan, Yang Ping, you'll be living here. Your current roommates are Mag Clark, third year, and Si Tingfeng, fifth year."

He swiped their student cards against the electronic door lock, adjusted the access settings, and handed the cards back.

"All right — in you go. I'll take the girls to their dorm."

Feng Zhou left with Lin Wei and Min'er.

Lu Yuan and Yang Ping stood at the entrance and exchanged a glance.

"Let's go in," Yang Ping said.

He stepped through and called into the building: "Anyone home?"

No answer. The entryway opened into a common area with a sofa and a coffee table.

A moment later, footsteps stirred upstairs, and a blond-haired young man came down.

He spotted them and paused, brow briefly creasing, then seemed to piece something together.

"You two the new students moving in?"

"That's us, Senior. I'm Lu Yuan."

Yang Ping introduced himself as well.

The young man's expression relaxed into a smile. "Welcome, juniors. I'm Mag — third year. The other roommate is Senior Si Tingfeng, fifth year, but he's out right now. Teacher Feng filled you in on the basics already, right?"

"He did."

"Good. The two sixth-year seniors who used to live here just graduated recently. Their rooms have been cleaned up by Beji — oh, Beji is our dorm's AI unit, it's upstairs. Come on up, I'll show you your rooms."

Mag turned out to be quite the talker, keeping up a steady stream of commentary as he led them through.

"Second floor has four rooms — yours are right here, both with private bathrooms and balconies. Third floor and the basement both have cultivation rooms. No Gravity Room in the building, though — for that, you'll need the Training Hall just outside the residential zone. That does require credits, of course..."

Lu Yuan and Yang Ping followed him upstairs.

At the top of the stairs, Mag paused beside the AI unit tidying the corridor.

"Beji, big dinner tonight — we're welcoming our two new juniors."

"Yes, Master."

"I'll get word to Senior Si Tingfeng — he should be back soon. Also, check the Light-Brain in your room when you're settled in. There's an enrollment notice with all the details about the school. And feel free to ask me anything."

"Thank you for all the trouble, Senior Mag."

"Don't mention it. I'll go train now." He smiled and returned to his room.

Lu Yuan and Yang Ping quickly sorted out which rooms were theirs.

Yang Ping had an uncomfortable look on his face. During the earlier entrance assessment, his attitude toward Lu Yuan had left something to be desired.

"Ahem... Lu Yuan — we're roommates now. Look out for each other, yeah? About everything before — don't hold it against me."

"I'm not that petty," Lu Yuan said.

The two of them headed into their respective rooms.

Lu Yuan took stock of his space. Not large, but everything was there: a wardrobe, a bed, a desk, a small bookshelf, and a door on one side leading to a private bathroom. A black Light-Brain sat on the desk. The room was clean.

*Not bad. Honestly comparable to Li Qinghe's place.*

He settled in, opened the Light-Brain, and logged in with his student ID and password. The enrollment notice was waiting at the top.

He read through it carefully. Most of it matched what Feng Zhou had already covered, with the rest being school rules and conduct policies.

Beyond the enrollment notice, there was also a link to the school's marketplace. He opened it with some anticipation. The selection was enormous — categorized in much the same way as the Battle Net storefront. He went straight to Transcendent Genes and sorted by price, highest first.

The top entry stopped him cold.

*Eight Directions Mirror Image* — Emperor Grade Transcendent Gene — **10,000,000 credits**.

*How is anyone supposed to earn ten million credits while still enrolled?*

Even taking first place on the Combat Power Rankings every single month — 10,000 credits a month, 120,000 a year — six years of that would barely crack a million. And that wasn't even the point: it was an Emperor Grade gene. He couldn't inscribe it regardless of credits.

He could only imagine how powerful the Combat Technique attached to something like that must be.

Lu Yuan collected himself and adjusted his search. He needed to look at Chief Grade and below — Transcendent Genes he could actually inscribe once he broke through to the next rank.

He applied the filter. The results loaded quickly.

He checked the first entry, and his breath caught.

His eyes went wide.

*Flicker* — Boss Grade Transcendent Gene — **2,000,000 credits**.

*Two million. For a Boss Grade gene.*

The physical enhancement that inscribing a Boss Grade gene provided fell far short of what Chief Grade, Lord Grade, or King Grade genes would offer. Yet this one was priced at the very top of the filtered category.

*With two million credits, you could probably buy King Grade or even Emperor Grade Transcendent Genes elsewhere. And this is just Boss Grade.*

That alone told him everything about how extraordinary the Combat Technique attached to it must be. He pulled up the entry.

> **Combat Technique: Flicker** > *Channel Spirit Power to blink across a short distance. Range scales with Spirit Power consumed.*

A spatial-type movement technique. Short-range teleportation.

Scrolling further through the catalog, Lu Yuan found himself overwhelmed. Combat Techniques everywhere — *Eight Directions Mirror Image*, *Puppet Control Art* (which could forcibly turn enemies into living puppets), *Thunder Rush Flash*, *Void Severing Slash*, *Cross Air Strike*, *Thousand Flower Phantom Art*, *Petrification Eye* (which turned anyone the user looked at to stone), *Instant Shadow Sword*, *Instant Empty Step*. Even spatial-type techniques alone numbered several.

So many powerful Combat Techniques. And every rare Transcendent Gene carrying them came with a staggering credit cost.

Lu Yuan thought it through.

Of the three standard credit channels, the Combat Power Rankings seemed most accessible to him right now. The rankings measured same-level combat — and his edge was the Evolution Cube. The more his genes evolved, the stronger he'd be at any given level. That advantage only compounded over time.

His current cultivation had reached the peak of Warrior Rank. One breakthrough would earn him 1,000 credits. A solid start.

For missions, he'd look at what was available when the time came. If they required too much effort, he was better off spending that time in the Land of Origin hunting Feral Beasts for Spirit Crystals, pushing toward his breakthrough, and evolving his genes. There was also the cultivation advancement reward to look forward to eventually.

At Li Qinghe's current pace — already at Battle King Rank — she would definitely reach Battle Venerable long before graduation.

*As long as I keep evolving, I'll only get stronger. And the gap will keep growing.*