Two Boss Grade Genes

Like Black Iron Body, Crimson Copper Light also delivered a massive boost to defense — while further improving strength and agility. Its magnitude of improvement far surpassed Black Iron Body.

A deeply comfortable warmth spread through Lu Yuan once more, and from somewhere deep within him, wave after wave of powerful force surged and swelled.

Feeling that surge of power, the corners of his mouth curved into an excited grin.

Just by evolving to Crimson Copper Light, combined with shattering the Gene Lock, every aspect of his abilities had improved by roughly four times over where they had been before.

And that was purely the physical stat increase. If you translated it into actual combat power, four times would be a severe understatement.

He couldn't put an exact number on it, but every core attribute had improved by at least fivefold.

As for the original Lu Yuan? Even ten of him bound together wouldn't stand a chance against who he was now. One could fairly say the old him had been quite weak.

He only knew one thing with certainty: if he ran into that Boss Grade Ancient Sea Giant Crocodile right now, the creature probably couldn't survive a single punch.

Using a Combat Technique would push that advantage even further.

Eagerly, he called up his gene information to examine the freshly evolved Transcendent Gene. His heart overflowed with excitement.

Now that he had broken through to First-Rank, a second Gene Chain had emerged. He could inscribe a second Transcendent Gene.

He retrieved the Natural Recovery Transcendent Gene.

Since Natural Recovery was a Common Grade Transcendent Gene, the inscription process caused only the faintest tingling across his skin given his current physical strength — nothing like the excruciating agony he had endured when inscribing Petrified Skin for the first time. He wasn't particularly worried about it starting at Common Grade anyway. That was what the Evolution Cube was for.

The final stage of gene inscription arrived.

His consciousness flickered, and he found himself standing in drifting white mist.

The mist stirred. A treant appeared before him — roughly 1.6 meters tall, crowned with lush green foliage, walking upright on two legs with two arms. This was the residual life-will of the Natural Recovery gene.

Since the Natural Recovery gene he was inscribing was Common Grade, this treant was naturally a Common Grade Feral Beast.

The moment it materialized, the treant's will opened its mouth toward Lu Yuan in a silent roar.

For Lu Yuan — whose first Transcendent Gene had already been evolved to Boss Grade — a Common Grade Feral Beast of the same tier posed no threat whatsoever. Treants generally had decent defensive capability, but that was entirely irrelevant here.

His body became a streak of light, already appearing before the treant's will.

Gripping the Beetle Claw greatsword, he unleashed a cascade of sword light that engulfed it completely.

*Crack... crack... crack...*

Within just a few breaths, the treant's will was shattered to pieces and dissolved into motes of light.

A mass of white radiance merged into Lu Yuan's second Gene Chain.

Strange lines constantly shifted form, beginning to mend the blank regions of the chain. Inside the luminous mass, those lines threaded through the white mist and settled into the empty stretches of the Gene Chain. As time passed, the blank sections were fully repaired, and the remaining lines flowed into other areas, making fine adjustments throughout.

Before long, the lines were completely absorbed.

The inscription of the second Gene Chain was complete. Once again, Lu Yuan's very being had been elevated.

His mind felt appreciably clearer. His flesh had grown more resilient, his muscles denser and more compact.

Inscribing Natural Recovery primarily boosted spirit, with a secondary improvement to defensive capability. The boost was roughly a tenth of what Crimson Copper Light had given — understandable, given that his physical strength was so formidable now that a Common Grade effect barely registered. Still, his heart was full of quiet delight.

Elite Grade effects would have been decent enough, but Lu Yuan had no intention of stopping there. He still needed to keep evolving.

The Evolution Cube was still pulsing with faint deep blue light. He gave it a mental command, and the second evolution began.

*Crack... crack... crack...*

He inwardly grumbled — *every single evolution, without fail. How brutal.* Then he gritted his teeth and bore it.

His face went pale, cold sweat pouring freely. Even so, this evolution's pain was noticeably less than when he had evolved Black Iron Body into Crimson Copper Light — not just for this Boss Grade step, but even the Elite Grade step had been more tolerable. His body was simply so much stronger now that the pain threshold had risen considerably alongside it.

Even so, the waves of intense pain were unrelenting. Nothing to do but endure.

Time passed. The pain gradually faded, and the deep blue light within the Evolution Cube dimmed considerably.

*Boom!*

A warm, deeply comfortable sensation surged through him, and powerful forces welled up from deep within his body.

Evolution complete.

His instinct conveyed the Combat Technique information.

**Combat Technique: Rejuvenation.**

The same type as Natural Recovery — a healing-type Combat Technique. The effect had roughly doubled compared to before the evolution.

But this still wasn't the end.

He glanced at the Evolution Cube, still faintly flickering, and hesitated. He decided not to continue immediately.

After all, he had already pushed through breaking the Gene Lock, evolving Black Iron Body, inscribing Natural Recovery, and a first evolution — all in sequence. Though his body wasn't particularly tired, his mind was utterly spent.

He went to shower, washing away the cold sweat that had poured out during all those evolutions.

Clean and refreshed, he flung himself onto the bed and fell straight to sleep.

He had no idea how long he slept. When he opened his eyes, he felt completely restored — every trace of exhaustion had vanished without a trace.

He looked at the Evolution Cube, still flickering with deep blue light, and with a single thought, the third evolution began.

*Crack... crack... crack...*

As the gene evolved, the bones and flesh throughout his body shattered and reformed. Searing pain flooded over him like a tide.

His face went pale. Cold sweat poured freely.

Nothing to do but endure.

The second time evolving to Boss Grade, the Evolution Cube consumed noticeably more energy than the first time. Lu Yuan suspected that different genes might require different amounts of Spirit Crystals to evolve — which made sense, since every Transcendent Gene was inherently different. He understood it well enough.

Time passed. The pain gradually faded, and the deep blue light within the Evolution Cube grew considerably dimmer.

*Boom!!*

A warm, deeply comfortable sensation surged through Lu Yuan once more, and powerful forces swelled from deep within his body.

The deep blue glow slowly dispersed. Evolution complete.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes and sensed the changes in his body.

His instinct conveyed the Combat Technique information.

**Combat Technique: Wood Healing Art.**

Like Rejuvenation, it was a healing-type Combat Technique — but Wood Healing Art's healing was substantially superior to Natural Recovery. With the same amount of Spirit Power expended, it could treat more severe injuries in less time; the effect was roughly twice that of Natural Recovery. He hadn't had a chance to test the specific output yet, but the potential was unmistakable.

This was perhaps because the Transcendent Gene originated from a treant — and treants generally had decent defensive ability. For Lu Yuan, having another layer stacked onto his already formidable defenses was nothing but welcome.

Beyond the technique, the evolved Transcendent Gene still primarily boosted spirit, with massive secondary improvements to both defense and strength, and even a small gain in agility. The overall effect had roughly doubled compared to before the evolution.

Using Combat Techniques would push those gains even further.

*So this is the power of a Boss Grade Transcendent Gene.*

He eagerly examined the evolved gene, his heart brimming with excitement.

*No wonder it takes nearly two hundred thousand Spirit Crystals to evolve. The gap above Black Iron Body is on an entirely different level.*

He glanced at the Evolution Cube, which had grown noticeably translucent, and felt a small pang. He'd charged so many Spirit Crystals into it, yet it had burned through them so fast.

Fortunately, he had spent several hundred thousand Spirit Crystals charging the Cube beforehand. Without that reserve, he could never have sustained this kind of continuous evolution chain.

With two Boss Grade Transcendent Genes obtained in rapid succession, the power roiling inside Lu Yuan was like magma — pressing against its bounds, ready to erupt at any moment.

Compared to before his breakthrough, his strength had grown by an extraordinary margin.

The improvement from the Transcendent Genes alone, compared to their Elite Grade counterparts, was roughly three times. Combined with breaking through to First-Rank, every individual attribute had improved by at least five times across the board. He couldn't quantify his combat power in precise terms, but the original Lu Yuan — even if you lined up ten of him — wouldn't stand a chance against who he was now.

He was fairly certain that the Boss Grade Ancient Sea Giant Crocodile he had once fought so desperately would probably not survive a single punch from him now.

*But what about the cat-kin girl, Yeye?* He found himself genuinely curious — she was, after all, the strongest Gene Warrior he had ever laid eyes on.

He got up from the bed, formed a fist, and threw a punch at the empty air.

*Boom!!*

A shockwave erupted. A fierce gust of wind ripped through the room — the nearby sofa was shoved sideways and slammed into the wall with a heavy crash.

His mind felt refreshingly clear. His flesh was more resilient than ever. His muscles were dense and compact with power.

The inscription of the second Gene Chain was complete.

Once again, Lu Yuan's life had been elevated.