Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Lei Zhongyuan was looking at Xiang Ning, who was lying in the recovery capsule, in disbelief. While it was true that recovery fluid was refined from the blood of Beast Kings, normally it would only be able to heal injuries; not just anyone could absorb the power within.

“Are you sure he’s a pureblooded human?” Lei Zhongyuan was suspicious.

“It’s confirmed. He is indeed a pureblooded human. I just checked and found out that his cells are very active, capable of consuming energy from another organism to increase his strength. If someone else were to eat a fearsome beast, most of the energy would be expelled outward. They’d be lucky if they were able to absorb even a fraction of the energy.” Dong Qianyi took a deep breath. “But Xiang Ning, he can absorb five percent of the energy of a fearsome beast!” His eyes sparkled with curiosity.

As they say, you are what you eat. Fearsome beasts were strong, and humans craved power to protect themselves. Naturally, the beasts were hunted and became food after the Great Disaster. But their flesh wasn’t easy to cook, requiring at least five times longer to be properly cooked.

“I’m not sure what you just said, but in conclusion, his cells can eat a lot and have great digestion?” Lei Zhongyuan wasn’t someone who studied science and could only catch some of the meaning behind Dong Qianyi’s statement.

Dong Qianyi laughed, “Yes, that’s right. This time you’ve picked up a treasure. As far as I know, there aren’t more than a hundred people on this planet that are capable of doing this, and almost all of them are tier seven martial artists.

“This is a true prodigy! He probably isn’t some kind of demon, and his Mental Power is increasing so rapidly. I think he has the potential to engage in scientific research, too!” Dong Qianyi’s eyes lit up. The Twelve Great Prodigies were absolute monsters in terms of scientific inventions, but their bodies weren’t that strong. Most of the time, they required volunteers to try their new inventions and could only feel a certain sense of regret that they were unable to invent something that everyone could use.

Thus, he saw hope within Xiang Ning. As long as his physical body was given sufficient resources, he was very certain that the thirteenth member of the Great Prodigies would be born. And Xiang Ning would be his disciple. He was getting excited just thinking about it.

Lei Zhongyuan was displeased when Dong Qianyi said that.

“He cultivated a martial skill to the Awakened tier at the age of sixteen. He has more talent in martial arts, why would he do scientific research?” Lei Zhongyuan haughtily laughed.

Dong Qianyi’s eyes were cold as he stared at Lei Zhongyuan. “What? Are you looking down on us? Look at you and your surroundings—everything you see was made and invented by us, the people that pursue the path of scientific research.”

Lei Zhongyuan didn’t back down. “Tch, so what. Would you be able to do it if it weren’t because of the minerals and raw materials that we martial artists acquire?”

They were both so busy bickering that they didn’t realize that the energy in the capsule was getting low. Finally, one of the medical staff mustered the courage to ask, “Sir Dong, the recovery fluid has been used up, should I add more?”

“Add!” they chorused, then continued bickering.

Xiang Ning was enjoying himself at the moment, because he was absorbing so many experience points.

Level: Tier one, eight-stars martial artist (0/4000)

…

Level: Tier one, nine-stars martial artist (4499/4500)

After roughly half an hour Xiang Ning was just one measly point away from entering the realm of tier two martial artists, but he was stuck in a bottleneck.

Increase Mental Power equivalent to a Tier one, nine-stars spiritual cultivator to advance

Xiang Ning wanted to choke the system.

Lei Zhongyuan and Dong Qianyi finally stopped bickering and saw the changes in Xiang Ning’s biodata. “Old Dong, what does this mean?”

Dong Qianyi examined the data, then said, “He’s full… I mean, his cells are completely saturated. He should be on the verge of a breakthrough. He should be a peak tier one, nine-star martial artist now, so why isn’t he advancing?” He was puzzled too.

“Old Dong, I think I won’t have a chance of obtaining him as a disciple now.” Lei Zhongyuan bitterly smiled.

“What do you mean?” Dong Qianyi was confused. Just moments ago they had been in a heated argument over who would have him.

“Dual cultivation, he wanted to advance into a tier two martial artist, but his Mental Power was only enough to bring him up to a tier one, one-star spiritual cultivator. I think he wants to cultivate his Mental Power to be a tier one, nine-star spiritual cultivator before achieving a breakthrough. He wants to become a tier two martial artist and spiritual cultivator at the same time.”

“So?”

“I’ve heard of something like this happening to people before, and they all had incredibly powerful backgrounds. I think the reason Xiang Ning has been able to achieve this level of excellence is that he has a strong master backing him. I thought I had a chance to take him as my disciple, but it seems that all hope is lost.” Lei Zhongyuan shook his head in defeat.

“Don’t jump to conclusions so fast, maybe he just got stuck in a bottleneck?” Dong Qianyi laughed.

“Hopefully.”

Ten minutes later, Xiang Ning walked out of an adjacent bathroom wearing a white shirt. He looked slightly thinner. “Instructor Lei, Mr. Dong.” Xiang Ning saw the two standing outside and came to greet them.

“Hmm, not bad. Tier one, nine-star martial artist. You’ve used my four million dollars, what do you say?” Lei Zhongyuan chuckled.

Xiang Ning asked, “Where’s the instructor that took me here?”

“Outside the door, what are you thinking?” Lei Zhongyuan quizzically asked.

“The instructor outside the door, Instructor Lei is asking you to pay back the four million dollars,” Xiang Ning shouted. He already asked and was told that he would have to pay, but now Instructor Lei was asking him to pay back four million dollars? Even if he sold his house and everything he owned, he wouldn’t be able to pay that much.

Everyone listening was caught between laughter and tears.

Then, Dong Qianyi cackled like a madman and Instructor Lei almost choked. He wanted to beat Xiang Ning up.

Fury Points +11

To Instructor Lei, four million dollars could easily be earned by hunting a few fearsome beasts. In this world, martial artists and spiritual cultivators were the occupations with the highest income. They would always bring back a decent amount of money every time they ventured out into the wilderness.

That was especially the case for someone like Lei Zhongyuan, a tier six martial artist. He could easily earn five million dollars every time he went out to hunt some beasts.

If he was lucky enough to join a raid and hunt down a Beast King, he would be able to earn at least tens of millions based on his contributions. If he were to solo kill a Beast King, he would earn hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Alright, that’s enough. Why aren’t you advancing into tier two?” Lei Zhongyuan inquired.

Xiang Ning thought for a bit, then told them the truth.

“I want to cultivate my Mental Power and advance to tier two as both a martial artist and spiritual cultivator,” he truthfully answered. He didn’t know why the system had given him such a requirement.