Breakthrough and Evolution

"Understood, Mr. Lu. Your delivery will arrive in about an hour."

Lu Yuan ended the call and headed home in good spirits.

The cold, empty streets quickly tempered them. He thought back to the news broadcast, and his mood grew heavy.

He passed the Auction House on his way back, paused, considered briefly, then stepped inside to consign [Combat Technique: Water Arrow].

An Elite Grade Transcendent Gene was worth slightly more than a Boss Grade armament — he set the starting bid at 98,000 Spirit Crystals. That was just the floor. The final sale would almost certainly top 100,000.

After consigning the Elite Grade gene, he stopped by a rental office and secured a Class C apartment suite for the upcoming move.

He stepped back out into the open air. On the walk home, the cold, deserted streets brought the news back to mind, and that heaviness settled over him again.

Back at the apartment, he knocked on Li Qinghe's door.

"I'm in," came the voice from within.

A moment later, the door opened. Li Qinghe stood in a loose white nightgown, dark hair draped over her shoulders, face bare and unpainted — and somehow all the more striking for it.

"Little Yuan, you're back? What's the rush?"

"There's something I wanted to talk through." Lu Yuan kept his tone steady. "These past couple of days there've been several gas explosions in this part of the city. You've heard about them?"

Li Qinghe paused, then nodded. "I know. What about it?"

"The Local Governor is calling it an accident, but I think it might be connected to that Shadow from before. This whole area has become dangerous, and I think we should move as soon as possible." He held her gaze. "I'm not so worried about myself — it's mainly you I'm concerned about. You're an ordinary person, Qinghe."

Li Qinghe's eyes widened slightly, her voice lifting with surprise. "Since that's the case, let's just find somewhere to rent and go."

Then a thought struck her. "Can you actually afford it right now?"

Lu Yuan grinned, a flicker of smugness crossing his face. "Don't underestimate me, Qinghe sis. I've got over ten million in savings — more than enough for a move. I could even support you if it came to that."

Li Qinghe stared at him. "Over ten million?"

Her surprise wasn't just a performance — she was genuinely caught off guard.

*He's only been Awakened about a month. How did he save that much in such a short time?*

"How did you even earn that kind of money?" she couldn't help asking.

Lu Yuan smiled easily. "We Gene Warriors hunt Feral Beasts in the Land of Origin and sell the materials — the prices aren't cheap. You're not a Gene Warrior yourself, so you might not have known. And I happen to be a bit of a prodigy, so my strength has been growing quickly. That means I've been hunting stronger and stronger beasts, which means more valuable materials."

A look of open admiration spread across Li Qinghe's face. "So Little Yuan is actually a genius? That's incredible."

"It has been moving along pretty fast," Lu Yuan agreed, smiling.

"So don't worry about a thing, Qinghe sis. Moving money is completely sorted. I could keep us both comfortable."

Li Qinghe looked at him, warmth unmistakable in her eyes, and let them curve into a smile.

"You're right. I'll stay home — let's look for places together tomorrow."

She smiled pleasantly as she said it. *But Lu Yuan is heading to the Land of Origin tonight*, she thought privately. *If I slip out, he'll never know.*

"Today I need to wait for a delivery," Lu Yuan added, "and tonight I'll be going to the Land of Origin. Let's do the apartment hunting tomorrow morning. One more thing — it's dangerous outside right now. Please don't go out."

Li Qinghe yawned. "I'm still a little tired anyway — I'll sleep a bit longer."

He nodded, told her to get some rest, and watched her close the door.

A weight lifted from his chest.

Not entirely, though. The Shadow was elusive and unpredictable. He couldn't be fully at ease.

*Moving out tomorrow. That's settled.*

Back in his room, he began browsing housing listings to prepare for tomorrow and settled in to wait for the delivery.

It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door. He went to answer it with a quick step.

The same two delivery men as before.

"Mr. Lu, fancy seeing you again so soon."

The brown-haired man reached into his Battle Net space, retrieved a metal case, and opened it. Inside, cradled within, was a white orb of light — threads of luminous silk woven through it in ceaseless, flowing motion.

A Transcendent Gene.

"Your delivery."

Lu Yuan lifted the orb and checked the interface: *Natural Recovery*. He confirmed receipt.

He held the Transcendent Gene in his hands, heart quickening. Unfortunately, he hadn't broken through to First-rank yet — he pressed the excitement down, stored the gene carefully in his Battle-mark Space, and bid the two delivery men goodbye.

Back in his room, he sat down and turned the white jade Origin Stone over in his palm. He steadied his breathing. Slowly exhaled.

*Tonight.*

At ten o'clock, the Light Gate within the white mist completed its repair.

Lu Yuan entered the Land of Origin without delay.

He found a room, settled into a cross-legged position on the bed, and drew out the third Origin Stone.

He closed his eyes. He began to absorb.

Primordial force flowed into his body, passed through the white mist, and drove toward the final lock chain.

With each surge, the mist churned and the Gene Chain trembled. A faint, sharp ache moved through him.

*Crack.*

Fine fissures spread across the surface of the black chain.

He didn't let up. The cracks widened.

**BOOM.**

The chain shattered.

With that last chain breaking, the white mist around the Gene Chain erupted into violent motion — and vanished in an instant. Lu Yuan choked back a groan. His face drained pale. Cold sweat broke across his skin.

*First-rank. He'd broken through to First-rank.*

With the breakthrough, waves of power surged from the deepest core of his body. His flesh, his mind — both had subtly, irreversibly changed.

Every breakthrough for a Gene Warrior is a sublimation. Their genes grow more refined. Their ceiling rises.

Above the first Gene Chain, the second Gene Chain emerged fully into view — dim and colorless against the first, its potential entirely untouched.

*Of course. That chain hasn't been tempered at all yet.*

He opened his eyes. A flash of quiet joy passed through them.

He clenched his fist.

But there was still something left to do.

He drew a slow breath and looked at the deep blue Evolution Cube spinning steadily around his Gene Chain.

"Begin."

With a focused thought, threads of deep blue light infused into the first Gene Chain.

Just as it had been the first time, the stable, ordered structure of the Gene Chain began to unravel and reassemble. The brilliant light dimmed as the evolution progressed.

Then the pain arrived.

It was worse than before — far more intense than evolving from Common to Elite Grade. That was to be expected. This time, it was Elite to Boss Grade.

Lu Yuan groaned involuntarily. His face went white. Cold sweat soaked through.

Time passed.

He endured. The deep blue light slowly thinned. The pain receded with it.

As it faded entirely, a profound warmth spread outward from the core of his body — a deep, primal satisfaction, the pleasure of biological instinct after the sublimation of life itself.

This was the essential transformation of genes.

He opened his eyes. Exhaled softly.

*Done.*

Spirit Power surged within him. Faint threads of crimson light drifted across the surface of his skin, circling without cease.

He clenched his fist. The power welling from deep within him was immense. The corners of his mouth curved into an excited smile.

Just having evolved — without yet re-tempering the Boss Grade gene — his raw strength had already nearly doubled from before. His defense had nearly tripled. And his agility had improved dramatically as well.

The Combat Technique had changed too.

**Combat Technique: Crimson Copper Light.**

He clenched his fist again and felt the new force flowing through him.

If he had failed to break the Gene Lock — if his Gene Chain had merely reached 100% tempering and stopped there — that would have been his permanent ceiling. But the lock was broken now. A new ceiling stretched ahead.

Compared to the first Gene Chain, the second looked dim and faint — untouched, not yet tempered at all.

But that was fine.

*This is only the beginning.*