352: Are you still human? (two in one)

The outside world was in turmoil due to Lin Yang's appearance.

Ordinary universes, upon receiving the news, stirred into action.

After Lin Yang entered the villa area and confirmed there were no surveillance cameras, he shut down the entire guest reception system for the area.

He didn't want to be disturbed.

If he were truly a free agent, he wouldn't mind negotiating with representatives from various universes to see who offered the highest price to represent their universe in the competition.

But he wasn't truly a free agent.

So, he couldn't be bothered to interact with those universe representatives and waste time.

Half a month later, the effects of the Medium Super Gene Potion in his body were completely absorbed.

Lin Yang took out the Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material, preparing to merge with it.

However, before merging, he first absorbed the Extraordinary Spatial Active Materials given to him by the White Fatty Old Man, increasing some of the Extraordinary Spatial Activity within his body.

The White Fatty Old Man had been exceptionally good to him.

The Extraordinary Spatial Active Materials he provided were of extremely high quality.

After absorbing these Spatial Active Materials, he could feel the surging, immense extraordinary characteristic material filling every pore of his body.

It even seemed to subtly want to break through his skin and leak out.

This was astonishing.

It meant that his body could no longer accommodate more extraordinary characteristic material; he had reached the maximum limit he could currently contain and absorb!

The White Fatty Old Man, in order to maximize his chances of successfully merging with the Extraordinary Spatial Material, had clearly calculated and prepared meticulously.

It actually reached the limit of what he could currently absorb in one go!

Lin Yang was secretly shocked.

Although he wasn't an Extraordinary Warrior yet, and his body had only just reached the level of a Medium Super Gene Warrior, the extraordinary characteristic material he could absorb couldn't compare to a true Extraordinary Warrior, but to directly reach his body's limit, the cost must have been significant.

The Extraordinary Spatial Active Materials in the box the White Fatty Old Man gave him didn't seem like much, but they could directly push his body to its limit, which implied they were undoubtedly active materials of extremely high quality and rarity.

"I owe a huge favor!" Lin Yang muttered.

Extraordinary Spatial Active Materials were already rare and precious, and the Extraordinary Spatial Active Materials he had absorbed were probably of immeasurable value.

Especially since, besides these active materials, there was also the most valuable Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material!

The Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material the White Fatty Old Man gave him was clearly not an ordinary characteristic material.

Although he hadn't seen other extraordinary characteristic materials, he had the one from Tian Wu's backward tribe, which Feng called a 'masterpiece'.

Since there were 'masterpieces', it meant that extraordinary characteristic materials also had different grades.

And the Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material the White Fatty Old Man gave him felt somewhat similar to the 'masterpiece' extraordinary characteristic material.

Plus, the White Fatty Old Man had said before that this Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material was originally intended for his own use.

Then, without a doubt, the grade of this Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material was absolutely far superior to ordinary Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Materials.

This favor was indeed very significant.

Sighing, Lin Yang collected his thoughts and began to attempt merging with the Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material... Time flowed by.

Unknowingly, nearly six months had passed since Lin Yang began merging with the Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material.

The competition had also reached the stage of entering the Universe Arena.

On this day, a crisp notification sound rang out in the villa area.

"Attention all competitors, the initial competition phase has concluded. The Universe Arena is now open. Sector draws will take place in three days. All competitors who have advanced to the Universe Arena, please enter promptly to avoid missing the sector draw. Missing the sector draw time will be considered an automatic forfeiture!"

"Repeat: Attention all competitors..."

The notification sound repeated three times before ending, and it also simultaneously rang inside every villa to ensure no competitor missed it.

At the same time, every advancing competitor would also receive a reminder from their exclusive intelligent butler, ensuring no one was overlooked.

"Time really flies..."

In the training room, Lin Yang opened his eyes, then slowly stood up.

He had also received the reminder and heard the notification sound.

It must be said, merging with an extraordinary characteristic material was indeed not an easy task.

During the merging process, he hardly felt the passage of time; his entire being was in a hazy state.

In these nearly six months, he had only managed to merge about 50%.

"If I had two more months, it would be perfect, but for now, it's enough."

Feeling his current state, Lin Yang's eyes gleamed.

The Universe Arena competition would last for a month.

Then the Top 100 competition would last another month.

During this period, he should have enough time to increase the merging progress of the Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material to 50%.

As for advancing to the Top 100 in the Universe Arena, he wouldn't need Extraordinary Spatial Characteristics for now.

Unless he was extremely unlucky and was directly matched with a seeded competitor from one of the top universes.

Otherwise, with his current power level as a Medium Super Gene Warrior, entering the Top 100 shouldn't be too unexpected.

Afterward, Lin Yang went downstairs, preparing to join the advancing competitors of this Neutral Universe to head to the Universe Arena.

Swish!

Suddenly, a figure flashed before his eyes; the White Fatty Old Man appeared silently inside the villa.

"Senior?"

Lin Yang was startled at first, subconsciously entering a combat state, only relaxing after clearly seeing that the person was the White Fatty Old Man.

He was somewhat surprised.

This was a competitor area, and to ensure the absolute safety of the competitors, there were many specialized protective measures, reportedly set up personally by powerful individuals from the Universe Alliance, such that even Extraordinary Warriors couldn't directly breach the competitor area's defenses.

Yet, this White Fatty Old Man could actually sneak in directly?!

"Haha, my dear disciple, it's been half a year, have you missed your master?"

The White Fatty Old Man first let out a hearty laugh, then, seemingly noticing Lin Yang's confusion, he said with a smile, "Ordinary Extraordinary Warriors indeed cannot break through the defenses here, but I, your master, am not ordinary!"

"Ahem, well, you're amazing." Lin Yang saw through the old man's intention to boast, and without exposing him, he silently gave a thumbs-up, giving him plenty of face.

"Dear disciple, have you successfully merged with that Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material? What is the current merging progress? Is it 30%?"

The White Fatty Old Man then earnestly inquired.

Merging an extraordinary characteristic material to 30% allows for initial mastery of the corresponding characteristic and its use.

Although the power might not be great, Extraordinary Spatial Characteristics are different from ordinary characteristics; as long as one can master them, they will be of great help in combat.

As long as Lin Yang could merge it to 30%, he wouldn't say Top 10 for this competition, but at least Top 20 shouldn't be a big problem.

As he asked, the White Fatty Old Man even seemed a little nervous.

Although Lin Yang himself had a secret, absorbing Gene Potion effects at an astonishing speed, he wasn't sure if Lin Yang could also far surpass others when merging with an extraordinary characteristic material.

"Senior, this junior's Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material merging progress is approaching 50%; it should fully reach 50% in another two months."

However, Lin Yang's answer directly stunned the White Fatty Old Man.

"Wh-what?"

"50%?"

The White Fatty Old Man instantly looked at Lin Yang with a ghost-like expression, his eyes filled with shock!

What did he hear?

What did Lin Yang say?

The merging progress was already close to 50%?

???

The White Fatty Old Man was dumbfounded.

He even felt his scalp tingle!

It had been countless years since he had experienced such a tingling sensation on his scalp.

But now, at this moment, he felt it again!

50%!

Half a year!

The White Fatty Old Man only felt that the world had gone crazy!

One must know that, under normal circumstances, in half a year, the merging progress wouldn't even reach 10%.

The reason he even asked if it had reached 30% was already his maximum acceptance based on Lin Yang's special physique and secret!

He had even prepared for Lin Yang to say that the merging progress hadn't reached 30% when he asked!

But now, not only had it reached 30%, it was even about to reach 50%!!

The White Fatty Old Man was stunned!

He stared at Lin Yang, his mouth opening and closing, with a myriad of words he wanted to say, but in the end, they only condensed into one sentence:

"Are you... are you still human?"

This short sentence was filled with hesitation, shock, and even terror!

In just half a year, the merging progress was about to reach 50%, and it was for an Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material at that!

Especially since the Extraordinary Spatial Characteristic Material he gave Lin Yang was a high-grade, high-quality item!

It would be even more difficult to merge.

But Lin Yang actually merged nearly 50% directly!

Was this really something a "human" could accomplish?

The White Fatty Old Man even began to suspect if Lin Yang was some kind of alien creature.

"...S-senior, your gaze is quite frightening. Are you alright?"

Lin Yang was startled by the White Fatty Old Man's huge reaction, and also felt his scalp tingle from the old man's strange gaze.

At the same time, he felt a bit speechless.

If he wasn't human, what else could he be?

A ghost?

"..." The White Fatty Old Man was silent.

After a while, the White Fatty Old Man sighed deeply: "Alas, this old man still hasn't seen enough of the world!"

Yes, that's right.

The White Fatty Old Man felt at this moment that he wasn't knowledgeable enough.

This feeling was very strange.

He, on the contrary, had become the ignorant one... After his lament, the White Fatty Old Man took a long while to recompose his thoughts, then slowly said:

"Good boy, if you can reach 50% merging progress in two months, you might actually have a chance to contend for a spot in the Top Ten!"

Reaching 30% merging progress allows for initial mastery of the corresponding characteristic, while reaching 50% significantly enhances the power of the characteristic.

But even so, the White Fatty Old Man still dared not say that Lin Yang would definitely enter the Top Ten.

After all, he deeply understood how monstrous and terrifying the seeded competitors cultivated by those Universe Countries were.

Compared to them, Lin Yang might be equally monstrous in his own right, but he lacked too much time, and his foundation was severely insufficient.

Otherwise, if Lin Yang were given a few more years, he would truly be confident in guaranteeing Lin Yang a spot in the Top Ten!

But now... "Born at the wrong time, fate plays tricks on people!"

The White Fatty Old Man let out a long sigh, also feeling that Lin Yang was born at the wrong time; if only he had been born a few years earlier!

"..." Lin Yang was speechless.

"Alright, this old man just came to check on your situation, I won't delay you any longer. You should follow the people from this Neutral Universe to the Universe Arena for the sector draw. After the sector draw and entering the Top 100, you can re-change your initial participating universe and represent your home universe in the competition."

The White Fatty Old Man specifically reminded Lin Yang not to change his participating universe immediately after the sector draw, but to wait until after entering the Top 100.

That way, even if Universe No. 364 wanted to target him, they wouldn't be able to gang up on him with multiple people.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior. This junior understands. Then I shall go now." Lin Yang said.

"Go on."

The White Fatty Old Man waved his hand, and his figure began to disappear.

Just before his figure completely vanished, the White Fatty Old Man suddenly spoke again:

"Oh, by the way, during this time, your reputation, young man, has spread widely in many universes. It's likely that Universe No. 364 and other competing universes will pay attention to you, and perhaps even the guy of the Universe Alliance will investigate you."

"But don't worry, this old man will solve these troubles for you. Before you enter the Top 100, no one will investigate your identity or background. You just need to focus on the competition and ignore any external voices, whether they are doubts or probes. You don't need to pay attention to any of them."

"This junior remembers!" Lin Yang immediately nodded.

The White Fatty Old Man's figure then completely dissipated.

Lin Yang then walked out of the villa.

The next moment, a cacophony of discussions entered his ears.

"Look, he's out! The big shot is out!"

"Since the big shot entered the villa, he hasn't come out for a full six months. He should have completely integrated the Gene Potion by now and become a Medium Super Gene Warrior, right?"

"Probably, after all, he was only a tiny bit short half a year ago. Now that half a year has passed, he must have completely absorbed the effects of the Gene Potion!"

"Oh my god, I'm so envious. To be a Medium Super Gene Warrior at just thirty years old. I can't imagine how happy I would be if it were me!"

"Alright, stop daydreaming. This time, who knows how many universes are paying attention to this big shot. I estimate that once the Top 100 competition begins, we'll know his background!"

"If this big shot could represent our universe in the competition, that would be great..."

The noisy sounds made Lin Yang slightly dazed.

He hadn't expected such a large crowd to be gathered outside his villa area!

From the looks of it, they were all specifically waiting for him!

This surprised Lin Yang somewhat.

Although the White Fatty Old Man had told him earlier that he was receiving a lot of attention now, he hadn't expected to be watched to this extent!

Looking at the large crowd and listening to their discussions, he felt like he had become a big celebrity, being chased by fans!

He had to admit, this feeling was quite good.

Afterward, some representatives from other universes emerged from the crowd and once again extended invitations to him.

Lin Yang rubbed his brow; these representatives from various universes were truly persistent.

He had already clearly refused them half a year ago, yet they were still waiting here to invite him again!

And there were even more of them than half a year ago.

Seeing the eager gazes of these representatives, Lin Yang thought for a moment and directly said, "Thank you, gentlemen, for your invitations, but I have already accepted an invitation from a certain universe, so I regret that I cannot accept yours."

He wanted to use this clear refusal to make these representatives give up.

However, he had somewhat underestimated the determination and intelligence of these representatives.

When his words first came out, everyone was indeed stunned for a moment, but then someone immediately said:

"Haha, you haven't left the competitor area for half a year, so you certainly haven't accepted invitations from other universes. You don't have to put us off like this."

"That's right, if you had accepted an invitation from another universe, news would have surely leaked out by now."

"It's perfectly fine if you don't want to accept an invitation for now. We can discuss the terms further."

"Exactly. If you're not satisfied with the current terms, we can bring them up again after you enter the Top 100."

"Hehe, we understand what you mean. For every rank you advance in the Universe Arena, you gain more resources and capital. If you want to wait until after the Top 100 competition to get a ranking and then negotiate for more terms, we can certainly understand that."

Lin Yang: "..."

He was speechless.

He had already said that he was going to represent a certain universe in the competition, but these representatives actually imagined that he was saying this because he wanted to wait until he achieved a high ranking to raise his value?

This actually works?

He looked at these representatives, feeling a bit helpless to complain.

With such imagination, why don't they go write novels?

...—

Sorry, the update was a bit late.

Okay, I admit it was a lot late!

I'm sorry!

I'll continue updating tonight!

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Thank you all! (End of this chapter)