Chapter 6: The Genetic Warrior, the Divine Favored
Under the effect of anesthesia, Ren Jie’s entire left side had lost sensation as the forced gene implantation surgery began.
Noyan held a cigarette between her lips, eyes narrowed, wielding the scalpel in one hand and the Sacred Light Codex in the other. Even during surgery, she did not neglect her studies.
At this moment, Ren Jie’s eyes kept darting to the erratic figure in the black short-sleeved shirt, yet he dared not stare too long. In this situation, any attempt to rebel would be awkward.
Noyan casually remarked, “Xiao Li told me about you. You went through the cremation furnace, crawled out, unlocked your gene lock, and awakened flame abilities?”
“Well, not bad! Your gene sequence is pretty good. You should go pay respects at your ancestral tomb sometime—seems like it’s smoking in celebration.”
Ren Jie rolled his eyes. “With a talent like me in the family, it should be the ancestors coming to honor me, not the other way around.”
Noyan smiled warmly. “Your filial piety looks beautiful, like a spring flower…”
“But it’s quite rare to awaken after three years of having the Spirit Awakening Serum injected.”
In truth, Ren Jie had already received the Spirit Awakening Gene Serum once when he was fifteen.
The nine-year compulsory education in Great Xia included a free injection of the Spirit Awakening Gene Serum at age fifteen.
Children who awakened abilities would attend Divine Martial High School; those who didn’t would go to regular high school.
Ren Jie was part of the latter group; he had long accepted his fate, giving up the unrealistic dream of becoming a gene warrior.
Who would have thought that this accident would grant him flame abilities? Whether it counted as awakening, Ren Jie himself was uncertain.
The primary reason he joined the Sishao Bureau and was so determined to secure a permanent position was not for the gene serum provided after official status.
It was mainly to enjoy the benefits reserved for Sishao officers.
However, people like Lin Huairen and Tian Yu were indeed striving hard for the gene serum after official confirmation. Although they had passed the optimal awakening age, another injection still carried a chance of awakening, albeit small.
But they wanted to take that chance.
After all, who willingly settles for mediocrity?
This explained why becoming a Sishao officer was so dangerous, yet countless people still fought tooth and nail to get in.
Ren Jie grinned.
“Consider myself lucky, Sister Noyan. I’m now a gene warrior of sorts. How exactly do I train?”
Since he had gone to a regular high school, his knowledge about gene warriors was limited to what he could find online.
Noyan chatted casually, “If you want to train, first you must understand the origins and basic principles of gene warriors!”
“Two hundred years ago, spiritual energy revived on Blue Star, and twelve spiritual springs emerged worldwide. But humanity could not benefit from this spiritual energy because the human gene chain was extremely complex, with gene locks in place.”
“Though eager to cultivate with spiritual energy, they found no way forward…”
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“Animals and plants, however, were the first to harness spiritual energy to cultivate, triggering gene evolution and gaining extraordinary powers. The situation spiraled out of control: humans, once at the top of Blue Star’s ecological hierarchy, were dethroned, and a great catastrophe began.”
“This catastrophe nearly obliterated human civilization.”
Noyan spoke as she operated, never missing a glance at the Sacred Light Codex.
“The turning point came from an experiment. Professor Yang Hongxiu, a molecular biologist from Great Xia, cracked the human gene code and developed the Spirit Awakening Gene Serum, opening the door to human gene evolution. The gene warriors were born, and the era of gene evolution officially began!”
“But by then, animals and plants had already pulled far ahead and awakened sentience, forming clans and societies. This gave rise to the Demon and Spirit races, who controlled the spiritual springs and divided Blue Star.”
Ren Jie sighed. “I know all that. The two-century history of spiritual energy’s revival. Then the outbreak of the racial war, humans fighting for survival space.”
“Later, the Temporal Demon Abyss appeared, introducing demons to Blue Star. The wars between humans, demons, and spirits turned into battles against demons, but we kept losing ground.”
“The appearance of the Sacred Heavenly Gate eased the situation. Now, humans, demons, spirits, and demons coexist.”
Though humans, demons, and spirits remain hostile toward each other, demons still pose the greatest threat, with disasters ongoing.
Noyan ground her teeth, poking Ren Jie’s wound sharply. “You know all this, and you still ask?”
Ren Jie grimaced in pain. “You didn’t have to say that.”
Noyan rolled her eyes. “The principle of gene warriors is simple. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, totaling 46; one pair is sex chromosomes, leaving 22 pairs of autosomes.”
“Gene sequences sit on these chromosomes. Each pair of chromosomes represents one rank, so there are eleven ranks of gene warriors. Because the chromosomes are shaped ‘XX’ and ‘XX,’ each rank divides into eight segments.”
“Each rank advancement triggers gene evolution. Segments one through five each have two skill slots.”
“Whether skills awaken naturally or require absorbing gene fragments depends on your gene sequence’s strength.”
Ren Jie swallowed hard. So that’s how it works.
“Wait, gene warriors have eleven ranks? But the online mnemonic says, ‘Awaken, Spine, Power, Store, Body, Ignite, Fate, Devour, Heaven, Might!’ That’s ten words—each representing a rank. What’s the eleventh?”
Noyan shrugged. “Eleven ranks are theoretical. So far, no lifeform on Blue Star has reached that level.”
“Also, every individual is unique, with different inherited gene sequences. Awakening is simply revealing one’s latent genes.”
“Thus, gene warrior abilities vary widely. Over thirty thousand have been documented. Your flame ability likely belongs to the ancient bloodline category and has decent potential.”
“You just awakened and are in the awakening phase. Your cells are still evolving. In a few days, you should reach the first rank.”
Ren Jie frowned. The abilities he had gained from the Demon Tree seemed somewhat different from what Noyan described.
“I have another question: Do gene warriors pay any price when using their abilities?”
Noyan paused, then smiled. “Gene warriors don’t. You must mean God-Blessed ones, though they’re a branch of gene warriors.”
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“You know about the Sacred Heavenly Gate, right? Legend says that when one’s faith is strong enough, gods cast their gaze, and that person becomes God-Blessed.”
“Their genes transform into divine genes, turning them into gods walking among mortals. Every God-Blessed is immensely powerful, possessing lethal damage against demons.”
“Xiao Li is a God-Blessed?”
Ren Jie raised an eyebrow. “Xiao Li? You mean the dog-headed girl?”
Noyan blinked in confusion. Dog-headed girl?
“God-Blessed use their powers without cost, but they must maintain faith daily, or they’ll be consumed by divine fire.”
“Unlike gene warriors, God-Blessed can temporarily gain stronger powers through divinization, but using divinization requires paying a price.”
“The longer they maintain divinization, the greater the price.”
Ren Jie swallowed. “What kind of price?”
Noyan grinned mysteriously.
“They lose some of their bodily tissue as payment.”
Ren Jie’s eyes widened. Damn! That harsh?
They call it divinization for them; I have demonization?
And the cost is to make others cry? What kind of cruel jest is that? Surely no deity would enjoy such a twisted thing.
“So, the Sacred Heavenly Gate randomly blesses people, turning them into God-Blessed?”
“What about the Temporal Demon Abyss? Does it have similar powers?”
Noyan’s expression stiffened briefly before quickly returning to normal, her gaze teasing.
In that moment, Ren Jie felt as if his little secret was exposed.
“Of course! But those are even rarer than God-Blessed.”
“They are called… Demon Contracted!”