32: Genes and Levels of Life

Starfall City, Li Family Mansion.

Li Hongqian was sitting in the main seat, listening to his subordinates report on their work.

Suddenly, a subordinate ran in, flustered.

"Young Lord, something bad has happened! Young Master Hongyang's mark has dissipated!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hongqian's teacup fell to the ground, shattering instantly.

He abruptly stood up and roared, "What did you say? Say it again!"

The subordinate trembled in fear and repeated:

"Young... Young Lord, Young Master Hongyang's mark has dissipated!"

Li Hongqian's face instantly turned pale, and his body swayed, almost losing his balance.

If an outsider saw this scene, they might think it was deep brotherly affection.

In reality, it was not so.

There was no deep affection between him and Li Hongyang.

Li Hongyang, as the illegitimate child of the Li Family, had been left to fend for himself since childhood.

However, the gears of fate quietly turned a few days ago at the "Spirit Awakening Ritual."

He awakened a B-Rank soul seed with innate Soul attributes, the [Trembling Soul Giant Ape].

The Li Family Clan Chief personally came forward, welcomed him back into the Family, bestowed upon him precious treasures, and began to "vigorously cultivate" him.

From then on, Li Hongyang transformed from an overlooked nobody into the focus of the Li Family's attention.

But what Li Hongyang didn't know was that there was a deeper reason behind the Family's immensePay attention to for him.

His spirit seed perfectly aligned with the requirements of the "blood replacement plan."

He was practically a "container" tailor-made for this plan.

If the "blood replacement plan" succeeded, the Li Family would quickly rise and step onto a broader stage.

But now, Li Hongyang's situation made Li Hongqian feel as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

If something happened to Li Hongyang, the next person chosen as the "container" would very likely be himself.

The thought of becoming a container for that thing sent shivers down Li Hongqian's spine.

"Immediately send people to the entrance of the Trial Secret Realm to see what's going on!"

...In the Trial Secret Realm.

Lin Xingyu brought Li Hongyang to a safe place.

Along the way, Li Hongyang was disoriented, his eyes vacant, as if he had lost his Soul.

He couldn't accept it for a while.

Just a moment ago, he was a Genius of the Li Family, highly regarded by the Clan Chief.

He eagerly anticipated showcasing his abilities in the Trial, soaring to the Peak of his life.

However, fate played a cruel joke on him.

In the blink of an eye, he became Lin Xingyu's Slave, his life and death in this person's hands.

"This spirit seed is too damn treacherous!"

Li Hongyang was filled with grief and indignation.

"It was supposed to enslave others, but how did I end up as someone else's Slave?"

"Could it be a bug?"

What made it even harder for him to accept was that Lin Xingyu's spirit seed was the "potted plant" that everyone mocked.

This huge disparity made Li Hongyang feel that his life was bleak.

He had thought about resisting.

But every time that thought popped into his mind, his whole body felt as if it was constrained by an invisible force, unable to move instantly.

What followed was an excruciating pain from the depths of his Soul.

It was as if an invisible pair of large hands was frantically stirring inside his mind.

"I can't even think about it, let alone resist!"

This pain from the depths of his Soul completely stripped him of the courage to resist.

He didn't even dare to have a single thought of resistance anymore... "Li Hongyang, what is the blood replacement plan?"

Hearing Lin Xingyu speak, Li Hongyang snapped back to reality and looked at him with a complicated expression.

"Ma... Master!"

He spoke with difficulty, his voice tinged with bitterness.

"I've only heard fragments about the blood replacement plan; it's said to be very important to the Li Family."

"But what it is specifically, I truly don't know."

Seeing this, Lin Xingyu stopped asking.

"Don't call me Master, call me Boss from now on!"

Calling him Master always felt a bit strange.

"Speaking of which, you're really lucky. If it weren't for this Opportunity, I would never take someone as weak as you as a subordinate."

Lin Xingyu patted Li Hongyang's shoulder, with an expression that said, "You've hit the jackpot."

Li Hongyang's mouth twitched, but he didn't dare to speak, only nodding in agreement.

Lin Xingyu didn't pay him any more attention. With a thought, he instantly vanished from his spot.

Bringing Li Hongyang into the Inner World... Li Hongyang looked at the scene before him, his mouth agape wide enough to swallow an ox.

"This... this..."

What was before him completely exceeded his understanding.

"Is this the Great Shift of the Universe?"

One moment he was in the forest, and the next he appeared on a grassland.

He crouched down and touched the grass on the ground.

The sensation was very real, not at all like an illusion.

What was that towering giant tree in the distance?

A true, towering giant tree!

It reached the heavens, its top out of sight!

Could it be the giant tree in the Trial Secret Realm?

However, it was said that tree was entirely purple, which didn't match the one before him.

"Bro... Brother Yu! You just... was that a space-type ability?"

Li Hongyang stammered, somewhat incredulous.

"Something like that," Lin Xingyu replied casually.

Li Hongyang's worldview collapsed once again.

As far as he knew, space-type abilities were extremely rare, and he had never heard of a low-Rank spirit seed possessing such an ability.

But Lin Xingyu's spirit seed was clearly the lowest Rank, so how could it possess such a powerful ability?

"To be precise, it's not," Lin Xingyu explained after a moment of thought.

This was his World, and it couldn't be considered an ability.

Hearing Lin Xingyu's words, Li Hongyang breathed a sigh of relief.

Speaking with such long pauses was not a good habit; it made him unnecessarily shocked for a long time.

Since it wasn't a space-type ability, it was most likely an item like a teleportation talisman.

Although teleportation talismans were valuable, they were much easier to accept compared to a space-type ability.

"This is my World; you can think of it as a Secret Realm."

Just as Li Hongyang's mood had calmed, Lin Xingyu's voice came again.

Li Hongyang: "..."

Li Hongyang felt like he couldn't breathe.

If this continued, he would eventually get a heart attack.

This was a Secret Realm?

As far as he knew, on the entire Blue Star, there were very few Secret Realms that had been refined.

That was the threshold for top-tier forces.

The value of a Secret Realm was much higher than a space ability... Lin Xingyu ignored Li Hongyang and walked towards the World Tree.

After devouring the Crystal Armored Rats, the World Tree bore a large number of evolution fruit again.

Lin Xingyu picked the evolution fruit and began to eat them.

Fortunately, the evolution fruit melted in his mouth and didn't fill his stomach.

Otherwise, just eating so many fruit would make him bloated.

As the evolution fruit went down, a large amount of evolution energy began to circulate within his Physique.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, for reaching the Peak of First Rank Nine Stars!"

"Detected that the host has reached the current Rank limit. Do you want to consume evolution power to strengthen your genes?"

"Hmm? Strengthen genes?"

As if sensing his doubts, the System's voice sounded again.

"Genes represent the foundation of a creature; they are the basis that supports everything."

"At the same Realm, the higher the gene value, the higher the physical quality, and the more energy that can be accommodated within the Physique."

"The improvement of genes also brings about an improvement in the level of life."

"Among the myriad Worlds, there are differences in the levels of life between different races, such as the Human Race and the Dragon Clan..."

"The level of life determines the foundation and upper limit of a race; the higher the level of life, the stronger the race."

...After hearing the System's explanation, Lin Xingyu immediately understood.

Genes represented the foundation of a race, and also its upper limit.

If his life level was high enough, he could even surpass the Dragon Clan.

At that time, he would possess a lifespan, Physique, and strength far exceeding that of the Dragon Clan...