Chapter 00014: Level One Gene Cultivator
# Level One Gene Cultivator
Chapter 14
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 14: Level One Gene Cultivator
Ding Huan returned to Yujiang University once again.
Upon hearing about the Blade Washing Society, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get any useful information from them.
The name "Blade Washing Society" was something Ding Huan had heard of in his past life.
It was a fairly large organization that would take on any shady job as long as the price was right.
He had no personal grudge against the Blade Washing Society, so their attempt to capture him must have been on someone else’s orders.
What satisfied Ding Huan was that after he had dealt with the two men who had been tailing him, no one had bothered him for the next three days.
During these three days of cultivation, Ding Huan could clearly feel a strand of internal energy forming within his body.
Indeed, having a gene spiritual root made all the difference.
In his previous life, he had only started gene meditation after fusing three different genes, and it had taken him seventeen years to become a Level One Gene Cultivator.
Based on his experience, with the speed at which he was refining his internal energy now, he could become a Level One Gene Cultivator in just one month.
And that was on Earth, where spiritual energy was scarce.
If he were on the Changyi Continent, he might have achieved it in just a week.
...
The tallest building in Luohe City was the Luohuan Tower.
The top floor of Luohuan Tower was one of the three main bases of the Blade Washing Society.
At this moment, in the top-floor conference room, twenty-one people sat around an oval-shaped table.
The atmosphere was tense and heavy.
"How did Donggu and Li Changqi die?" asked a bald man sitting at the head of the table.
His name was Yuan Youzhen, one of the three vice-leaders of the Blade Washing Society.
In terms of status, he was second only to the society’s leader, Shen Changsheng.
The room was eerily quiet.
Those familiar with Yuan Youzhen knew that this silence was a prelude to bloodshed.
In this era of environmental mutation and rampant gene beasts, human life was the cheapest commodity.
Every day, incidents of gene beasts running rampant and devouring people were commonplace.
Returning to the peaceful order of the past was almost impossible.
Six years ago, when a member of the Blade Washing Society had a conflict with a beast-hunting team and had his hands severed, Yuan Youzhen had personally wiped out the entire team.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Two members of that team were from Luohe City, and Yuan Youzhen, still unsatisfied, had also slaughtered their families in the city.
Given Yuan Youzhen’s temperament, the death of two of his subordinates was enough to drive him into a frenzy.
A young woman stood up and spoke respectfully, "After three days of investigation, we believe that Donggu and Li Changqi likely died from taking the Shijin'ai gene, which failed to integrate with their bodies."
"How could they have gotten their hands on the Shijin'ai gene?" Yuan Youzhen frowned.
"I haven’t found out the specifics yet, but the surveillance cameras in their residence were deliberately destroyed," the woman replied before sitting back down.
"So, they were killed by someone? Was it that Ding Xiaotu?" Yuan Youzhen’s voice was laced with malice.
A middle-aged man spoke up, "It’s possible, but I don’t think it was Ding Xiaotu. He’s just a student. Why would he think to destroy the cameras? And he doesn’t have the ability to do so."
"Ha, it’s also possible that Donggu and Li Changqi destroyed the cameras themselves. Maybe they got their hands on the Shijin'ai gene and wanted to leave the Blade Washing Society, so they destroyed the cameras and tried to fuse the gene. They just didn’t expect to fail and die," another person chimed in.
The room fell into a brief silence.
It wasn’t uncommon for low-level members to want to leave the Blade Washing Society, especially since any top-tier gene potions like Shijin'ai had to be handed over to the society.
"Feng Yu, I’m putting you in charge of this investigation. Until we have answers, the matter with Ding Xiaotu is on hold," Yuan Youzhen said, his voice carrying a hint of killing intent.
Everyone knew there were only two likely reasons for the deaths of the two Blade Washing Society members.
The first was that Ding Baishan’s hidden forces had acted, though this was unlikely.
Ding Baishan, the founder of Baiyu Group, was just an ordinary person.
What hidden forces could he possibly have? If he did, Ding Jie would have been dealt with long ago.
The more plausible explanation was that Donggu and Li Changqi had obtained the Shijin'ai gene potion and didn’t want to hand it over, so they destroyed the cameras and tried to fuse the gene themselves.
Once fused, they would have immediately fled Luohe City.
Destroying the cameras would have created the illusion that they had been taken by someone else.
...
"Boom!" Ding Huan felt as if a barrier within his body had been shattered, and a surge of power flooded through him.
Had he become a Level One Gene Cultivator? Ding Huan clenched his fists in excitement.
In his past life, it wasn’t until he went to the Changyi Continent and struggled for nearly twenty years that he became a Level One Gene Cultivator.
And even then, it was only superficial because he hadn’t had a gene spiritual root at the time.
This time, it had only taken him twelve days—twelve days to become a Level One Gene Cultivator, two-thirds less time than he had anticipated.
Ding Huan looked at the oily residue seeping out of his skin and took a deep breath.
Finally, he had the ability to protect himself.
The next step was to choose which genes to fuse.
The strength of the Great Desolate Golden Ape and the gene for the Eye of Illusion were must-haves, but his current strength wasn’t enough to obtain them yet.
Apart from those, his first choice was a gene for injury recovery.
There were plenty of animals and plants with regenerative abilities.
However, Ding Huan immediately ruled out plants.
This was different from spiritual root genes.
The gecko’s ability to regrow lost limbs was impressive, but compared to the planarian, the gecko fell short.
But Ding Huan quickly dismissed the planarian as well.
While the planarian could regenerate from even the smallest injury, even being cut into multiple pieces and becoming multiple planarians, something about it felt off to him.
It wasn’t because the planarian looked disgusting.
Gene fusion had nothing to do with the physical appearance of the animal.
Survival of the fittest—any useful gene ability was fair game.
But Ding Huan’s subconscious told him that the planarian wasn’t suitable for cultivators.
Then there was the fire salamander, whose regenerative abilities were also top-notch.
Ding Huan decided to focus on the fire salamander’s injury recovery gene.
It was crucial for him.
"Ding Huan!" A familiar voice called from outside.
Ding Huan immediately recognized it as Geng Qianxing.
He opened the door, and Geng Qianxing rushed in.
Compared to his usual disheveled appearance in the lab, Geng Qianxing now looked much more presentable.
At least his face was clean, and his hair was neatly trimmed.
"You have no idea how busy I’ve been these past few days. The students are here now, so come with me to meet the ones who will be taking the exam."
Although Geng Qianxing had been appointed by Principal Tan as the lead instructor, he had no idea where to start.
"Alright, give me a moment," Ding Huan said.
Now that he had become a Level One Gene Cultivator, he had no intention of hiding away at home to cultivate.
Half an hour later, after a shower and a change of clothes, Ding Huan and Geng Qianxing arrived at the exam class.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the entire Yujiang University was now focused on this one exam class.
After all, if even one student could make it into the top ten academies of Blue Star, Yujiang University would be guaranteed to survive.
But Ding Huan knew better.
If he didn’t step in to lead this exam class, not a single student from Yujiang University would make the cut.
As they entered the classroom, Ding Huan saw a group of students gathered together, chattering away.
"Teacher, you’re so slow. We’ve been waiting for over half an hour," a long-haired young man complained as soon as Geng Qianxing walked in.
The chatter in the classroom didn’t die down either.
Geng Qianxing felt awkward.
He was, after all, the teacher, but these students clearly didn’t respect him.
He knew that every student here came from a powerful family.
Those from simpler backgrounds wouldn’t have been able to secure a spot in Yujiang University’s exam class for the top ten academies of Blue Star.
"Teacher, why don’t you just give us the exam qualification certificates, and we’ll go home? That would be best," a female student added.
Ding Huan understood now.
These students weren’t here to learn anything from Yujiang University.
They didn’t care about the teachers either.
Their only goal was to get the exam qualification certificates for the top ten academies of Blue Star and then leave.
"I’ll handle this," Ding Huan said, patting Geng Qianxing on the shoulder.
He had plenty of ways to deal with these brats.
"I know that everyone sitting here is here for that one exam qualification certificate. Let me be clear—just because you’re sitting here doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get it..."
Ding Huan’s words had an immediate effect.
The previously noisy classroom fell silent.
Every student here had assumed that getting the exam qualification certificate was a done deal.
How could it not be?
Ding Huan continued calmly, "You should all know how many people are vying for these twenty exam qualification certificates. Your family connections might be strong, but there are always people with stronger connections."
At this, even the long-haired young man straightened up and sat properly.
He realized that Ding Huan was telling the truth.
While his own qualification might be secure, what if it wasn’t?
"I’m here to tell you that Teacher Geng and I are very knowledgeable in gene studies and gene cultivation. If you’re willing to stay and receive our pre-exam training, then listen carefully to what I have to say next..."
Ding Huan paused for a moment before continuing, "Of course, if you’re not willing to accept our training, you’re free to leave now. Your exam qualification certificates won’t be affected. They’ll be delivered to you when the time comes, as they’re not available right now."
As soon as Ding Huan finished speaking, almost everyone stood up and walked out of the classroom.
(End of Chapter)