Though martial arts techniques were exquisite and often allowed the weak to overcome the strong, they were utterly pale in the face of absolute power—like a mouse, no matter how fierce, could never defeat a tiger.
Strength overcomes skill!
That saying wasn't just empty talk.
Feng Lin's Stone Monkey gene, as a mutated primal gene, naturally countered energy attacks with its immunity to water and fire.
The robed man had awakened two primal genes, which by all accounts made him no weakling among gene cultivators, but he was unlucky enough to run into Feng Lin, whose abilities completely suppressed his.
Thus, he became a total tragedy.
His wind and fire abilities were utterly useless, forcing him to face Feng Lin head-on in a contest of techniques.
But then Feng Lin showed him what it felt like to have every punch land with flesh-on-flesh impact.
Except Feng Lin felt pleasure, while the robed man felt only pain.
The man's techniques were impressive, exquisitely refined, but every clash felt like hitting an iron wall—not only failing to harm his opponent, but instead injuring himself from the recoil.
It was like dealing zero damage to the enemy while taking 800 self-inflicted.
Invincible plus magic immunity—it was downright cheating!
The robed man was on the verge of tears!
Feng Lin, however, didn't care what he thought, unleashing move after move, each punch landing solidly, causing the man immense agony.
The reason he hadn't delivered a killing blow was that Feng Lin had taken an interest in the man's martial arts.
All along, the techniques he used came from the Virtual Martial Arts Tower, and they were no longer sufficient now that he'd become an interstellar cultivator.
This man had delivered himself to his doorstep, and Feng Lin might be able to drain his value, acquiring this marvelous cultivation method.
What made it most intriguing was that this method seemed to have a miraculous effect of encompassing various techniques, potentially allowing him to integrate all the gene martial arts he'd learned and create a unique style of his own.
Thus, Feng Lin was determined to obtain this method, and in his eyes, the robed man had become a lamb to the slaughter.
As for how to get it, he'd need to think of some means—but first, he had to subdue this man!
Once he'd tested out all the martial techniques, Feng Lin stopped holding back and truly went all out.
The moves were the same, but the force behind them grew increasingly ferocious. With a vitality of 13.6, once unleashed, the power was terrifying.
Even Feng Lin himself didn't know how terrifying his punching force was now.
He only knew it was very, very strong...
The robed man retreated step by step, his face frantic. These moves were all ordinary and unremarkable, yet the strength behind them was unbearable.
This was the true essence of strength overcoming skill.
The robed man felt like his arms were about to break.
"This can't go on! I didn't awaken a body-strengthening gene; my strength and speed are far inferior to his, and my wind-fire powers are useless. My abilities are completely suppressed. If this continues, I'll end up dead here!" His eyes flickered with thought as he considered retreat.
But Feng Lin had him tightly pinned down, leaving no chance to catch his breath. How to escape became his biggest headache.
In his eyes, Feng Lin was nothing but a brute—unbreakable, unstoppable, with no weak points on his body.
No, perhaps the only weak point was...
The robed man's mind stirred as his gaze fell on Feng Lin's eyes.
No matter how tough the body, the soft eyeballs were always a vulnerability.
He made his move, going all out. His hands unleashed a flurry of attacks, like butterflies flitting through flowers, raining down on Feng Lin.
"Excellent moves!" Feng Lin's eyes lit up. The attacks seemed infinitely varied, embodying the principles of martial arts, as if someone were demonstrating the very essence of combat before him, drawing him in.
Feng Lin countered each move, adapting and exchanging blows with the man.
After more than ten exchanges,
Feng Lin was hit multiple times, his clothes torn to shreds, but his body remained completely unharmed.
No matter how high the martial skill, it was useless if it couldn't break through his defense.
Feng Lin's eyes grew brighter. In this exchange with the cultivator, he gained invaluable martial experience, and his gene potential soared.
Gene potential +20%, +20%, +20%...
The potential quickly broke through the 300% mark, reaching 368%.
After this single bout, Feng Lin had gained over 100% gene potential.
Becoming an interstellar cultivator meant that every bit of progress consumed far more gene potential, but each training session also yielded far greater growth than before.
It was both a blessing and a curse...
"Now's the time!" The robed man seized the moment, seeing Feng Lin lost in his intricate techniques, and struck suddenly.
Explosive Fire Technique!
The robed man formed hand seals, gathering a ball of flame in his palm, condensing it into a single point before it burst open, erupting into a blinding white light that stabbed at the eyes.
Caught off guard at such close range, Feng Lin's vision went white.
Every beam of light felt like a sword piercing his pupils, stinging and burning, leaving him unable to open his eyes, pain searing like smoke and fire.
"Let's go!" The robed man didn't linger, grabbing the snake-man and fleeing.
Feng Lin's eyes were shut tight, tears streaming down, his pupils aching, unable to open for a long time.
He had to admit, this man was highly experienced in battle, instantly finding his weakness.
Legend had it that Sun Wukong's stone body and iron bones were indestructible, immune even to the all-consuming Samadhi True Fire of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, but his eyes were the one vulnerability—said to have been tempered into fiery golden eyes, they were actually a pair of afflicted eyes.
These eyes were the greatest flaw of the Stone Monkey gene, and the man had seized on it immediately.
But if they thought they could escape like this, they were being naive!
Feng Lin extended his psychic power, scanning the area. Everything was within his perception, clearer than sight, locking onto the two fleeing figures.
"Captain, why are we running?" The snake-man said reluctantly, "Weren't you already at an advantage? Why not kill him! None of those Giant Pharmaceutical employees are any good!"
"I can't win! That man's skin and bones are like bronze and iron; I can't break through his defense at all! His gene ability is too formidable, immune to wind and fire—practically invincible!" The robed man shook his head gravely. "We need to leave now! Otherwise, once his eyes recover, we won't be able to escape!"
"You won't be able to leave even without his eyes recovering!" A light laugh, like a soul-reaping sound, drew near.
What?
The two turned back to see Feng Lin closing in instantly, eyes still shut tight, but tracking them relentlessly.
An unusual ripple spread through the void, like an invisible net enveloping them, trapping them in place.
Feeling this fluctuation, the robed man's face changed drastically.
Psychic gene!
Having been through many battles, he knew the terror of the psychic gene.
It was a detection-type gene that allowed one to survey the surroundings. Paired with this man's formidable close-combat abilities and immunity to energy attacks, it was practically unbeatable!
Escaping today would be no easy task!
And indeed, it was true.
Still smarting from the earlier loss, Feng Lin was furious and struck with ruthless force.
Vajra Lifting the Cauldron!
Feng Lin raised both hands high, then slammed them down.
Boom!
The air solidified, an invisible, crushing pressure descending like a mountain.
The two were immediately hindered in their movements.
The robed man raised his hands, summoning a whirlwind of fire to resist, but was still slowly pressed down.
The weight was immense, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
This gradual crushing pressure, the looming sense of doom, was utterly tormenting.
The snake-man finally couldn't take it anymore, letting out a fierce roar. "I'll fight you to the death!"
His body twisted like a snake, springing up as green needles shot from his mouth.
Feng Lin freed one hand, flicking his fingers, sending out bursts of energy that knocked the needles away.
Then he reached out, grabbing the snake-man's neck in midair, hoisting him high.
This was like a snake's vital spot—the seven inches—and with his weakness seized, the snake-man was immobilized, choking, feeling like he was about to die.
"Enough!" The robed man spoke gravely, no longer daring to act superior or call Feng Lin "youngster," but addressing him formally as "sir."
"Sir, do you truly wish to become mortal enemies with us, the Mars Revolutionary Army?"