The process of breaking through the gene felt so simple that Feng Lin could hardly believe it.
He had expected some major upheaval, but never imagined it would be this effortless. This gave him a new understanding of the sheer dominance of stat allocation.
The ape gene officially broke through to 4 points, and his vitality reached as high as 0.7.
He had eleven gene points in total, seven allocated to the ape gene and four to the stone fetus gene. Both basic genes had surpassed their own limits.
Feng Lin felt as if his entire body was brimming with boundless energy, as though every cell was breathing, bursting with powerful vitality. He clenched his fists, sensing the newborn strength flowing like a warm current from the deepest part of his being, his whole body basking in a cozy warmth as if soaking in a hot spring.
At the same time, an intense itch spread through his spinal marrow, like ten thousand ants crawling inside, both agonizing and ecstatic.
Feng Lin knew this was the process of the enhanced genes remodeling his body.
The ape gene strengthened human muscles, while the "fetus" in stone fetus gene signified an embryo—once awakened, it would continuously produce embryonic stem cells, enhancing bodily toughness, making his body as hard as rock and resistant to severe damage.
This was a mythical gene, following the logic of myth yet explainable by science, utterly miraculous.
"Name: Feng Lin Vitality: 1.5 Ape Gene: 9 Stone Fetus Gene: 5 Gene Potential: 8%"
With the genes all strengthened, Feng Lin's own vitality had surged to 1.5, breaking through the critical threshold of 1.
This was a key milestone.
With vitality exceeding 1, he had surpassed the average level of interstellar humans, no longer the bottom student in his class.
Unfortunately, his gene potential was nearly depleted, leaving only a paltry 8%, close to nothing.
Until he found a new way to acquire gene potential, the luxury of stat allocation would be hard to come by.
But Feng Lin had already gotten what he wanted—that was enough!
If I gain it, it's my fortune; if I lose it, it's my fate!
Having lived a second life, having already died once, Feng Lin carried an air of calm detachment.
Looking in the mirror, his outward appearance showed no change, but internally, everything was different.
Through his skin, he could keenly detect a faint luster beneath the surface, a crystallized membrane that was exceptionally tough.
Pressing down, he felt that beneath his seemingly delicate epidermis lay a framework of steel-reinforced bone, unyielding and indestructible.
Despite this massive breakthrough, in the days that followed, Feng Lin remained as low-key as ever, moving through the campus alone.
He had always been an outsider at school—no talent, no strength, no background. Who would notice him?
Such a drastic change overnight would be hard to explain.
Feng Lin kept as low a profile as possible, not even telling his parents, and for three days, he trained even more diligently in the gene breathing method.
Having found a path forward, he trained with relentless drive, almost like a man possessed.
In a month, he was scheduled to intern at the family factory.
To secure the right to continue his training, he needed enough capital to negotiate with the family.
After another grueling day of training, Feng Lin was drenched in sweat, his body pushed to its limits, wracked with excruciating pain.
He checked himself—no change in his genes.
It seemed he had truly hit a limit!
Feng Lin sighed. Without free gene points, advancing further would be tough!
"Huh?" He suddenly noticed something strange. At some point, his gene potential had grown to 18%, an increase of 10%.
Gene potential had actually increased. What had happened during this time?
Feng Lin racked his brain. These past days, he had done nothing but train.
Could it be...
A spark of insight flashed, and his mind cleared, the key becoming obvious.
No need for all those bizarre and convoluted methods—gene potential was gained through training. It was that simple!
With daily, relentless practice, the genes grew stronger.
Though hard to detect, every bit of progress accumulated over time, forming gene potential.
So that was it!
Feng Lin was overjoyed.
Compared to his earlier guess that the gene equation required absorbing some special energy to gain gene potential, this method was far more acceptable to him.
No pain, no gain!
This was an eternal truth, universal across all cosmos.
Absorbing external energy was like reaping without sowing.
Hard training, though grueling, meant every bit of progress and every gain was his own, something no one could take away.
With this understanding, Feng Lin trained even harder in the days that followed, like a man possessed.
Watching this, his parents could only shake their heads repeatedly.
"Our son still won't give up. He wants to take the college entrance exam and become a cultivator!"
"But it's not that easy. With a vitality of 0.4, he might not even qualify for the exam! I hope he doesn't ruin his body. If that happens, he won't even get into the family factory, and he'll be completely useless!"
...
His parents whispered to each other, their faces growing more troubled.
Feng Lin heard it all but said nothing, only training harder.
To change his fate, only cultivation mattered!
The greatest power of the gene equation was its ability to digitize the human body, allowing every small improvement to be seen clearly.
As long as you worked hard, there would be rewards!
For someone determined to cultivate, this was the simplest and greatest blessing.
How many people struggled in vain, achieving nothing?
The original owner of this body had once been just as diligent, which was why he left behind fourteen free gene points when Feng Lin arrived.
Unfortunately, he never had the golden finger that Feng Lin, as a transmigrator, possessed.
Without guidance and ignorant of how to strengthen genes, all his training was done in a fog—he knew only hard work but lacked direction.
Even though his body contained a wealth of gene potential, in the end, his ape gene was only strengthened to 2 points, his stone fetus gene to 1, and his vitality was a mere 0.4.
The gene equation showed Feng Lin infinite possibilities and set him on a different path from the original owner.
He had to cherish it.
Gene Potential +10%.
Gene Potential +12%.
Gene Potential +9%.
...
Training continued daily, and gene potential kept growing, averaging about 10% per day.
At this rate, Feng Lin estimated he would soon have new gene points.
He was already a senior in high school, and as days passed, the atmosphere on campus grew heavier.
Students hurried about, and the school library and training hall were filled with people training day and night, rarely anyone looking relaxed.
A piece of news spread.
It turned out that the Earth Middle School's annual college entrance exam qualification assessment was about to begin.
This was the first mock exam before the actual college entrance exam—only those who passed could qualify to take it.