The Strongest Gene Chapter 551-560

Chapter 551: Spirit Arts

“Divine ability. This is a true divine ability.” Li Lei’s gaze was burning. He grabbed both Chen Feng’s hands firmly and didn’t let go no matter what. “Chen Feng! You must teach me this ability.” Only now had he realized how terrifying this time shroud was. If used in a proper manner, his combat power would increase at least onefold.

Chen Feng smiled bitterly. “I will.” Earlier, this guy had still been full of disdain toward this time shroud, yet now he was so desperate for it that he almost prostrated himself to learn it. This was still something Chen Feng had just recently created. Despite the astonishing effect of this ability, the limitations were rather great as well. A single usage would already exhaust the entirety of a beyond A class’s energy. With this, this ability would most probably be unusable for normal battles.

Li Lei thought about it. “With my strength, after using this ability once, I should still have some energy remaining.”

Chen Feng nodded. “Mhm.” “However, the exhaustion is still too high.” Li Lei pondered. “It can only be used as a trump card for now. Naturally, if you can improve and optimize it further and make it something usable casually, it would be even better.”

Chen Feng shrugged. “Strength-wise, I think it’s sufficient.” It was impossible to further improve this. After using 1,000 luck value on it, this version of time shroud was already nearly perfect. If so, the only thing he could do was optimize it. Chen Feng was not sure if this thing could actually be optimized in the first place. He recalled how in his previous life, a certain storage system had in fact lost its popularity after optimization. He definitely did not want that to happen to him.

“Time shroud is only one of the numerous shrouds available. Apart from this, there are also flame shrouds, lightning shrouds, and so on. Naturally, all these will require time and a huge amount of energy spent to create. In the future, perhaps I will truly be able to create even more versions,”  Chen Feng stated slowly.

This shroud was a legend-like existence. This thing that had been inherited by Gou Li’s group was supposed to be something an ordinary person couldn’t ever hope to use, let alone improve. If one wanted to improve it, first of all, one needed to have an absolute understanding of the core version of this ability: the spatial shroud. But then, by the time one finally gained sufficient understanding of the spatial shroud, enough time might have passed that this shroud would no longer still be useful for humanity. However, Chen Feng was different. He had not needed to gain absolute understanding of the initial version of the shroud. The only thing he had required to improve it was his luck value. As such, this shroud

was simply perfect for him.

The core of this shroud was what he had inherited from Gou Li’s group. Using that as the core, he had created a brand-new improved ability. This was a legendary power that belonged to Chen Feng alone.

“Shroud…”

Li Lei was similarly filled with admiration. He was the only one who knew how strong the side effects of using this ability were.

He was somewhat anxious. “Are you truly fine?” Chen Feng shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“That’s  good,  then.”  Li  Lei  frowned.  “Regardless  of  how powerful this thing is, it is still not as important as you yourself. Remember to monitor yourself every day. I will get a few beyond A classes to test your life span.”

Chen Feng: “…Is there a need for this?”

“This  is  a  need,”  Li  Lei  said  with  a  solemn  expression. Suddenly, Li Lei stated with a lowered voice, “Do you think you are the only one studying this thing?”

Chen Feng raised his brow. “Mhm?” He recalled that back then, he was the only one who had obtained the complete version of Gou Li’s inheritance. Moreover, he had only obtained it after cross-checking it with Spirit’s help.

“Hehe, this is the Genetic Era after all.” Li lei sneered. “There were several beyond A classes present back then. Do you think that you were able to hide from those people the fact that you obtained the inheritance? They were all able to see it clearly. Moreover, internally, the Genetic Union already has a copy of the improved data of this ability. Those guys already started their research. Naturally, they all wished to be the one to control this powerful ability. And next…”  Li Lei’s expression became weird. “There was no next.”

Chen Feng blanked. “Huh?”

“Dead.” Li Lei sighed. “Those guys that personally researched Shroud Art, including one beyond A class, four beyond B classes, and a bunch of beyond C classes, all of them died. By the time we opened the door of their room, we noted that they had all died of old age. This happened in a single night.”

Even now, the memory of that still gave Li Lei some lingering fears. That was truly an unforgettable scene.

Chen Feng: “…” The people of this era are truly not afraid of death. Chen Feng shook his head. “Don’t worry. I didn’t even touch the power of this thing. What I did was deduce and analyze it before attempting to directly improve how it works, working purely on theory rather than directly attempting to use it.” Only after hearing this did Li Lei heave a sigh of relief. “That’s good, then.”

Next, the two of them started testing and studying this time shroud created by Chen Feng. An improved set of data was submitted officially. However, when trying to think of a name for this shroud, both of them stopped.

“Shall we call it Time Shroud?” Li Lei probed.

“Oh.” Chen Feng hesitated as well. “Why not change the name?”

Li Lei slapped his thigh. “Yes, let’s change it. I keep feeling that the name ‘shroud’ feels somewhat freakish, as if it touches upon some sort of taboo. Look at those fellows had died so randomly…”

“Let me think about it.” Chen Feng sank into contemplation. Shroud Art…

This did not seem like a fitting name. More importantly, in the future, he might be able to create even more versions. As such, numerous other new abilities would appear. Could it be that they would have to give those names such as Flame Shroud, Lightning Shroud, and so on? What if the created shroud had no special properties? What should it be named? What about the naming of two different versions of time shroud? Time Shroud 1 and Time Shroud 2? Chen Feng’s head ached at the thought of this.

“Mhm…” He sank into a long contemplation. “How about ‘spirit arts’?”

Spirit arts, a unique system of abilities that were different from genetic abilities. In essence, this was made up of the core concepts of the Shroud Art and was something created after improvements and modifications by Chen Feng.

“Apart from the initial ability used by Gou Li’s group that shall maintain the name Shroud Art, all the newly created abilities shall be called spirit arts!” Chen Feng decided firmly. “All right.” Li Lei approved of it. He knew that from today onward, the name “spirit arts” would be etched into the annals of history. In the future, for the genetic warriors of humanity, apart from possessing genetic abilities, they would have to possess spirit arts as well. Only those who had mastered both systems could be the strongest of all.

“How about this time spirit art, then?”  Li Lei coveted this ability.

Chen Feng waved his hand. “Take it.”  After all, this ability wasn’t of much use to him. However, the price of obtaining this thing…

Li Lei chortled happily. “Don’t worry. I won’t take it for free.”

The next day, on the ability exchange page of the Genetic Union, which hadn’t changed for several years, a brand-new ability suddenly appeared. This was an ability that was listed together with the likes of those 6-star secret arts.

 Name: Time Quicksand.

Classification: Spirit art.

Function: Takes one second.

Exhaustion: All energy a standard beyond A1 would have.

Conversion Rate: …

Right Holder: Chen Feng.

Bang!

This sent the entire Genetic Union into an uproar. Spirit arts? What were those? And then there was the function of this thing… The list of beyond A abilities hadn’t been updated in a very long time. Moreover, those beyond A classes of the old generation had already purchased all the listed abilities, even the ones they didn’t require. And now…

“Buy, buy, buy!”

“Since I bought the final ability in the list three years ago, I haven’t seen any new abilities.”

“I have remained stagnant for four years already.”

Naturally, not everyone viewed this new ability positively.

“This guy called Chen Feng stirs up trouble every single day.”

“What bullshit ability is this to deserve an entirely different classification?” “Yeah.”

“One second… What’s the point? My speed-reduction ability is capable of reducing speed by at least 90% for 10 seconds. Perhaps I should create a brand new classification for my ability as well?”

“True.”

“This is too expensive. Even if we were to ignore the function of this ability, the price is truly…”

“What a trash ability. Spatial freeze abilities are sufficient to render this ability useless.”

Chapter 552: Good News for Middle- Aged Males

Genetic Union.

The sale of Time Quicksand was just nice for Chen Feng. Such abilities could only be traded internally within the Genetic Union for points. If it was able to help gather enough points for him to exchange for resources that would help him reach beyond A class, that would be even better. After all, here in the Genetic Union, the points were able to be used for anything one wished.

Hire beyond A classes? Purchase materials? So long as one had sufficient points, one could obtain whatever one wished. Back then, thanks to the amount of points he’d had, after joining the Genetic Union, he had been classified as an official member. As such, he was eligible to enjoy all the Genetic Union had to offer. However… Chen Feng took a look at the rows upon rows of abilities in front of him. At present, he was already a peak beyond B9. If he wanted to enter beyond A class, he had to first break through his present realm before fusing with a brand-new ability. Producing the gene reagents was something he could complete himself, but for the process of breakthrough…

Rapid-Growth Training Camp

Right Holder: Genetic Union.

Grade: Peak beyond B class.

Difficulty: 5 stars.

Success Rate: 20%.  

This was a training camp, something Chen Feng had once encountered at the Mysterious Organization. The unique environments of these training camps increased the odds of one’s breakthrough. However, the quota for participating in these training camps was extremely valuable. This was something a regular person had no hope of participating in.

“Mhm…”

Chen Feng looked at the list of applicants for this training camp. So far, there were over 100 people waiting, with some having waited for an entire year already. The only thing these people could do was increase their contribution points unendingly in hope of obtaining a spot.

If so, how long would he need to wait? Chen Feng tried to check out other training camps. There were a huge number of similar training camps that could help beyond B classes enter beyond A class. Since Chen Feng wasn’t someone who was afraid of success rates, he believed that it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to find one for him to join. Unfortunately, his search returned nothing. He could not find even a single one to join. Even for the camp with the shortest waiting list, there were still 126 names on the list. Even so, the reason for this waiting list being the shortest was due to the high difficulty of this camp, and only those with excessively high contribution points were on the list here. Others gave up on trying to enter the waiting list after failing. Even the order of the waiting list was determined by one’s contribution points. Only those with the most contribution points could be listed at the top of the list.

It was possible that one might be slated to enter next month but suddenly someone with more contribution points would appear and the first person would have to once again wait, whereas the one with more contribution points would get to enter first. As such, to maintain one’s position on the waiting list, one had no choice but to accept missions without stop, to earn contribution points without stop. Only by doing this could one obtain a chance to enter the camp.

This was especially true after the sale of the beyond X gene reagent. A huge amount of peak beyond B classes had appeared, causing the limited quota for the training camps to be unable to meet the demand.

Chen Feng smiled bitterly. “Have I inevitably screwed myself by  releasing  the  beyond  X  gene  reagent?”  All  the  training camps at the Gene Production Association were only helpful for the increase of one’s production level. As such, he had no choice but to look for strength-increasing training camps here at the Genetic Union. Alas, his special identity within the Gene Production Association did not seem helpful here at the Genetic Union.

With several dozen training camps, it shouldn’t be too hard for him to find one suitable for him, right? Chen Feng tried asking around. Unfortunately, there were no results. At present, even the one with the highest contribution points in the list had waited for at least half a year. Every person on the waiting list was either part of a major family, the heir of some peak beyond-A-class warrior, or of similar status.

Now, with the threat of the ancient race and devil race looming, nobody would be willing to concede their position in the waiting list. It was impossible for Chen Feng to cut in line. Furthermore, even if one person was willing to concede the spot to Chen Feng, would the others be willing? The only way Chen Feng could enter first was if the several hundred people on the waiting list all conceded their spots to him. After all, his contribution points at the Genetic Union were too low. As such, the only way he could enter first was to get special treatment from the Genetic Union. In fact, with Chen Feng’s present identity, he was indeed qualified to obtain this special treatment from the Genetic Union.

However, at present, both the ancient race and devil race were paying close attention to him and waiting for a chance to kill him a hundred times. As for the Genetic Union, they were all hoping that Chen Feng could obediently serve as a mascot for them among humanity. If possible, they hoped that Chen Feng would forever stay within the Genetic Union under their protection and never leave. As such, it was rather unlikely for them to grant him an exception to enter the training camp, resulting in him leaving the protection of the headquarters.

“What bullshit is this?”

Chen Feng did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Even if the present Genetic Union seemed rather reliable in terms of providing protection, he had no intention of forever staying under their protection and leeching off them. In this era, it was better for one to grasp strength in one’s own hands. “Seems  like  I  can  only  think  of  something  myself.”  Chen Feng sighed. “Contribution points…”

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes as he studied the description of the contribution points. This system of contribution points was rather simple. This was a system where the importance of one’s mission was the determining factor, an entirely different system from the regular points and the regular rewards for missions.

This system of contribution points was like a flight of steps. The higher it was, the harder it would be. One mission might have ample rewards, yet only a tiny amount of contribution points would be given. As such, even when selecting missions, one had to be prudent. Naturally, Chen Feng would not be so bored that he started wasting time accepting missions to earn contribution points. If he were to do this, how long would it take to obtain sufficient contribution points? At the same time he was obtaining contribution points, others would be doing the same as well. As such, accepting missions to obtain contribution points was rather unreliable.

“If so…”  Chen Feng narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, his gaze landed on Time Quicksand. This was something capable of earning him a huge amount of points. Naturally, they were regular points rather than contribution points. However, according to a certain provision in the laws of the Genetic Union…

Suddenly, Chen Feng laughed. “Hehehe.”

You guys are the ones who forced me to do this.

At present, Time Quicksand had only created a small uproar. Even if this was the first new unique ability added to the list after so many years, this ability seemed too ordinary and had failed to garner a huge amount of attention. To buy or not to buy? This was a question a lot of people were asking. A huge majority of the beyond A classes were assuming a “wait and see” attitude.

Suddenly, a rating appeared on the trade interface of Time Quicksand. The Genetic Union’s regular points were extremely valuable; each point was something the genetic warriors fought with their blood and life to earn. As such, in order to prevent wasting points on unsuitable abilities, there would be a short description, introduction, and rating for each listed ability. The total points were 10. Those rated 1 point were classified as trash abilities, while those rated 10 points were classified as abilities of great value. Different ratings would signify different worths for the listed abilities. After all, this was not some competition among merchants. As such, fake ratings were something that had never appeared here. This resulted in these ratings being something of utmost importance here on this list.

“What’s the rating?”

“Let me see… Holy shit, 10 points?”

Nobody could believe it.

Nobody had expected that the first beyond A class that had purchased Time Quicksand would actually leave a rating of 10 points there. What did this signify? One ought to know that in this rating system of theirs, a score of 10 was the equivalent of a perfect score. Even the 6-star secret art that was publicly acknowledged as the strongest ability was only rated at eight points. The reason for that rating was the excessive price. This Time Quicksand was obviously priced similarly as those beyond A class abilities, yet it was still rated at 10 points? Could this ability be even stronger than that 6-star secret art? Everyone’s expression became solemn as they pondered this. If that was indeed the case…

Instinctively, their gaze landed on the content of the rating, and instantly, their expression blanked.

“Rated by anonymous warrior *: This is the savior of all middle-aged men. With my strength as a beyond A9, I am able to easily use this ability nine times in a row, perfectly avoiding that awkward premature [censored]. The act of [censored] that I long gave up on is once again possible. My [censored] power has actually increased by five times! Like! ”

Shua!

The people of the Genetic Union lapsed into silence when they saw this. This was a review filled with mosaics. However, even with that, they were able to clearly guess exactly what this person was trying to say. This was especially true for the sentence “savior of all middle-aged man,” which clearly hinted at what this was about.

Mhm…

Time Quicksand could be used like this? Hold on, nine times, after an increase of five times…could it be that this old man had only been able to last two seconds when doing the deed previously? They wiped their sweat. This review was truly…

But then, if Time Quicksand could truly be used in such a manner…

Some  of  them  were  full  of  doubt.  “That’s  not  possible, right?”

“After all, that old man is still a beyond A class. How is it possible that…” one stated in a low voice. Someone else sighed. “Maybe the wife is also a beyond A class?”

“That might be true.”

At this, the others gained understanding. With how interesting this was, it soon spread throughout the entire Genetic Union, to the point that a lot of them had odd expressions whenever they look at a beyond A class. And because of this, the Time Quicksand became a trending topic. Immediately after, people started discussing the actual function of this ability in battles, in injury reduction, in increased ability duration, and so on. All of these were things that still required further testing. With this, Time Quicksand became truly, incredibly popular.

Chapter 553: I Have Been Thinking Too Much?

Translator: Limostn Editor: Tennesh You have a super- explosive ability? Sorry, with Time Quicksand applied at the appropriate moment, the explosiveness will vanish. You have an unrivaled defense? Sorry, with Time Quicksand, the active duration of the defense will disappear. After all, when activating an ability that required casting, if a single second were to go missing, the entire process would need to be restarted.

The more they researched, the more they noticed how terrifying this ability was. This new ability created by Chen Feng became the most popular and powerful ability. As long as one put it to use in an appropriate manner, this ability could counter any ability. This was a super-powerful interruption ability. This was what Time Quicksand was. It was not a powerful attack. Rather, it was the strongest support ability.

Those people who had still been wondering whether they should buy it suddenly noticed that this ability was something everyone had to have. Oh, one refused to buy it? Well, one’s opponent would buy it. And then… well, what would happen next was something one should be able to guess. At the very least, Time Quicksand would render one major ability useless. More importantly, one could never guess when exactly would Time Quicksand be used, when exactly one’s ability would be suddenly disabled, giving one’s opponent the initiative in the battle.

In a battle where both parties were evenly matched, the one without this ability would be the disadvantaged party. With great sadness, after all the beyond A classes purchased this ability, they noted that the only use of this newly bought ability was to counteract the opponent’s Time Quicksand, since both parties similarly had the same ability.

Mhm… when one activated it, the other would activate it as well. As such, everyone would take one second from the other’s side. Apart from this, this ability did not seem to have any other use.

Of course, when facing the devil race or ancient race, Time Quicksand would still prove extremely helpful, something equivalent to an additional life. Ultimately, it was decided that this was an ability not to be used among fellow humans. “I keep feeling like something seems off.”

“Sigh, my combat power is still ranked 88.”

“Same here. Even though I have bought Time Quicksand, nearly all the beyond A classes have purchased it as well. As such, ultimately, there are no changes in the overall combat power among us fellow humans.”

“…”

“What a scam!”

“I knew it! This Chen Feng will never come out with something good.”

Everyone felt too powerless to even begin berating this. Due to this, the rating of this Time Quicksand dropped from the initial 10 points to three points. Moreover, people were leaving the  word  “scam”  in  the  reviews  of  this  ability.  Alas,  they noticed with great grief that even with that low rating of three, they still had no choice but to buy it. It reached a point where every newly advanced beyond A class had to purchaseTime Quicksand as their first beyond-A-class ability.

At a certain location within Genetic Union, Li Lei was watching on helplessly as the sales of Time Quicksand increased. God-freaking-dammit . At first he had believed that he would be able to bully everyone after obtaining this Time Quicksand, but now this ability had become a must-have for all beyond A classes. Chen Feng, what a scammer!

“This is the reason you asked me to leave that ‘savior of all middle-aged men’  comment anonymously?”  Li Lei sighed at this realization. That’s right, he was precisely the anonymous reviewer.

Chen Feng smiled playfully. “Of course.” Sex was the easiest marketing method. In his previous world, regardless of whether it was via video, CD, computer, or even virtual reality, sex was something that had always sold extremely well. The same applied when it came to the dissemination of news. By spreading the news about his Time Quicksand as gossip, it was able to spread through the market at a rapid speed. Li Lei was speechless. “Where’s your integrity?”

Chen Feng merely laughed it off. “Hehe.”

Li Lei raised his brow. “Anyway, are the points you have earned this time sufficient for you to enter beyond A class?”

Since Chen Feng was already at peak beyond B class, his next step of advancement was to enter beyond A class. The points he had earned would be helpful in that. Regardless of abilities or materials, all of them could be purchased using points.

“Indeed, the points are already enough. But I’m afraid it’s still not sufficient to enter a training camp,” Chen Feng stated faintly.

“There’s no helping that.” Li Lei shrugged. “When it comes to the transformation to beyond A class from beyond B class, nobody will concede. Among those on the waiting lists, a large majority of them are the children of the various big shots of the Genetic Union.” “I am aware of that…” Chen Feng smiled calmly. “Therefore, I have no choice but to think of something myself.”

“With your talent and the points you have, if you use a regular method to break through, at most, you will be able to break through in a year,” stated Li Lei.

Chen Feng shook his head. “One year is way too long.”  He had been stuck in beyond B class for far too long. The trip to the devil race territory back then had also increased his thirst for power. No matter what, he had to break through into beyond A class this time.

“If so, you can only wait for it. If you need help, I can help you farm some contribution points,” Li Lei stated with a forced smile. This was the only way he could help.

Chen Feng smiled calmly. “There’s no need for that. I already have an idea for what to do about this.”

At the same time, the Genetic Union was holding a meeting. The higher-ups of the Genetic Union were discussing something extremely important.

The deputy president was somewhat anxious. “Chen Feng’s points are so high it’s borderline scary now.”

Generally, it was extremely rare for a single person to create such beyond-A-class ability. Normally, this would be a group project. After all the earned points were divided, what a single individual stood to earn wasn’t much. As for the occasional cases where a single individual had succeeded in creating a new ability, those had normally been some minor abilities that weren’t particularly expensive.

But now, this Chen Feng had created Time Quicksand, a beyond-A-class ability. The price of this ability was extremely high, and in this circumstance where all beyond A classes had no choice but to purchase this ability so they didn’t fall behind, Chen Feng’s points had instantly reached a scary level.

“What’s  there  to  worry  about  that?”   One  of  them  felt doubtful. “At present, he is merely a beyond B class. I reckon he will most probably use all these points just to breakthrough into beyond A class. I remember how the last time someone earned such a huge amount of points, that person did the same. With Chen Feng’s talent and the resources he could purchase with these points, he will be able to enter beyond A class in a year.”

This was the steadiest method of breaking through. Despite the somewhat lengthy process, it was still much safer than joining a training camp.

“If that were the case, it would be excellent.”  The deputy president smiled bitterly. “Alas, your understanding of Chen Feng is too low.”

“What about him?” That person felt doubtful. Even if Chen Feng was a person with a respected identity, that was still a Gene Production Association identity. In the Genetic Union, with Chen Feng’s strength, he wasn’t that high up the ladder.

“Previously, Chen Feng was also merely a regular producer in the Gene Producer Association.”  The deputy president slowly narrated,  “This  remained  until  one  day  when  he  created  a research paper. Next, he started selling it. Next, he became part of the management of the Gene Production Association.” Shua!

Instantly, everyone in the meeting lapsed into silence. Only now did they realize what exactly this deputy president was worried about. That was because according to a certain provision in the laws of the Genetic Union, if one possessed a certain amount of points, one could start purchasing authority in the Genetic Union. Granted, the amount of points required was excessively large. However…

“That’s not possible.”

Everyone shook their heads. Even if such a provision indeed existed, in their history, only a single person had ever managed to do it.

That was Luo Yuan, the founder of Stormtech Co. Ltd., the creator of the wristbands all of humanity used, the senior who had also created numerous mystical technologies. That was the first person who had accumulated sufficient points to start purchasing authority within the Genetic Union. However, even with the amount of points he had gathered, the scope of authority he had managed to purchase was only 0.1%. In order to truly have a say in the Genetic Union, one would need to have an authority of at least 10%.

“You are thinking too much,” one of them stated, as if this was utterly ridiculous. “What joke is this? This is the Genetic Union. Have you spared a thought for how many points would be required to purchase authority here in the Genetic Union? Even Luo Yuan only managed to purchase 0.1%, an amount only sufficient to have his name listed, before he gave up. If one truly wishes to gain enough authority through this method to control the Genetic Union… That is impossible.”

“Don’t worry.” Everyone started comforting the deputy president.  “Regardless  of  how  powerful  Time  Quicksand  is, one must not forget one point: the amount of beyond A classes among humanity is still rather limited.”

“True.”     At   this,   the   deputy   president   lapsed   into contemplation. Even if all beyond-A-class humans were to purchase Time Quicksand, the accumulated points would still be insufficient to purchase the authority required for one to actually assume any form of control over the Genetic Union. However, why did he still have this uncomfortable feeling? “Perhaps I have truly been overthinking things,”  the deputy president muttered.

Chapter 554: Energy Shroud

Within a certain laboratory, the Chen Feng that was constantly on the deputy president’s mind was contemplating the future of spirit arts. Should he research all by it himself? That wasn’t possible. Time Quicksand alone had exhausted 1,000 luck value. If he insisted on proceeding with the research himself, he could force himself to create two additional abilities before exhausting all his luck value, but that would be it—game over. This was simply behaving like a wastrel. Although these spirit arts appeared extremely powerful, it was still not acceptable to waste so much luck value.

Even if he was able to create three different spirit arts, Chen Feng did not feel like he would be able to earn sufficient points. Apart from wasting his luck value, it was pointless. As such, what should the second spirit arts be, then? Flame? Lighting? Stone? Mhm…

Chen Feng pondered for a long time yet noted that all these ideas were unreliable. A pure spirit art or something similar to Time Quicksand would be pointless to create. If so, should he create something everyone could utilize, then? Something even an E class could use? The advantage of creating such a spirit art was the fact that it would have a huge target audience. There were only a hundred-something beyond A classes in existence currently. As for a spirit art that everyone could use, it might result in several hundred million people buying the ability from him.

If the created ability was powerful enough…

Chen Feng thought of it yet ultimately shook his head. That was not feasible. Even if such an ability could achieve high sales volume, the earned points from it would still be too low. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be any better than Time Quicksand.

“Let’s  try  and  see  if  I  can  produce  a  basic  version  of anything.”

Chen Feng started trying.

Shua!

Light swirled around. With his Luck Aura activated, Chen Feng started his research. Using his Luck Aura purely to select a proper direction to follow without a need to think too deeply about it, Chen Feng only needed to focus on improving on what was selected.

After a long time, a brand-new improved ability appeared.

Energy Shroud: Absorbs 1% of the opponent’s energy.

Chen Feng: “…”

Shua!

What was the point of this thing? In short, this new spirit art extracted another’s energy instead of time? The version used by Gou Li’s group was a spatial shroud that extracted space itself. As for Chen Feng’s Time Quicksand, it was a time shroud and extracted time. And now, there was this energy shroud. What other abilities could result from this?

“Absorbing the opponent’s energy during battle?” Chen Feng pondered. Star-Sucking Skill? Not reliable.

This damnable ability could only absorb 1% per attempt. One would need at least 100 attempts to absorb all the energy of one’s opponent. So long as the opponent wasn’t a complete idiot, after two attempts, the opponent would no longer fall for it.

“What to do?”

Chen Feng sank into contemplation. Indeed, he had created the basic version of a new ability. But the biggest questions were how to further improve it and what to do with it. This was especially true since this ability was one that seemed rather useless and would only work on idiots.

Mhm…

Chen Feng pondered deeply for an entire day and finally managed to think of something. If so… “Spirit, prepare,” Cheng Feng stated faintly.

“Do you really want to do that?”  Spirit’s gentle voice was filled with a trace of oddness as well. This idea Chen Feng had thought of was truly…

“Mhm,”  Chen Feng answered resolutely. “This is my only option.”

At the same time, at the headquarters.

“Li Lei.” The deputy president called Li Lei over. “Apart from Time Quicksand, is Chen Feng researching any other spirit arts?”

“Nope.” Li Lei shook his head. “At that time, Chen Feng told me that researching Time Quicksand alone had already cost him greatly. At most, he will be able to create one or two more abilities, nothing more.” “That’s good, then.” Finally, the deputy preside heaved a sigh of relief. If so, one great worry could be erased from his heart. However, the deputy president didn’t get to remain in his joyful mood for long, as just one week later, a piece of news that shook the entire world appeared: Chen Feng had created the second spirit art.

“If it’s the second version, so be it. What’s so special about it?”

“Yeah.”

The deputy president was still calm and collected. “Even if he creates one per week, it won’t change anything.”

“No, that’s not the case.” The employee that was reporting to him wiped his sweat. “This spirit art is rather special. It can’t even be classified as proper spirit art.”

“What are you even talking about?”  The deputy president shook his head. Seeing how the employee couldn’t explain clearly even after a long while, he decided to take a look himself. However, after a mere glance at this new spirit art, he blanked.

This… is this still a spirit art?

Rather than labeling it a different spirit art, this thing might as well be labeled as merchandise. Along with the ability itself, a long user manual was attached.

Name: Master Spirit Trainer

Classification: Spirit art.

Function: By using an appropriate training method, one can increase one’s spiritual energy permanently.

Exhaustion: Same amount of energy exhaustion used during regular spirit training methods. Conversion Rate: Free.

Right Holder: Chen Feng.

“What in the world is this? A permanent increase of spiritual energy through an appropriate training method? This is unlikely, right?”

“How is it unlikely? Even the lowest-level spirit gene reagent is capable of granting such an effect as well. The problem here is the price he set.”

“Price…”

Shua!

All their gazes landed on the price, and they were greatly alarmed. Only now did they realize that this new spirit art was actually free! That’s right, free. A powerful new ability was actually being given out for free? This indeed shocked everyone. Indeed, nowadays, quite a number of kind and grand experts existed. However, if they were to give things out for free, they would most probably starve to death. Were they supposed to become a kind and grand beggar instead? This Chen Feng fellow…

“Let’s first see what exactly this thing is.”

“True.  This  might  be  an  incomplete  product.  Chen  Feng might have merely released it as an introduction for the public.”

“That’s possible.”

They all agreed on such a possibility. Since this was a free ability, everyone started purchasing it.

Shua! Purchase completed. Numerous mystical seals surged out. Everyone followed the circulation route as listed in these seals and circulated their energy. Soon, light swirled around their bodies, and ultimately, a crude illusion made of blue light appeared.

“This seems to be some sort of illusion?”

“Mhm. The composition of this illusion isn’t too complicated. It only consists of lines. It’s something anyone willing to learn can complete. This is the simplest of all abilities.”

They all started reviewing this new ability while trying it out. As for the contents of this illusion…

Before their eyes, numerous blue balls of light hovered. A huge amount of them were sealed by a gray seal, with only the first ball of light shining brightly. This was the ball representing the so-called Master Spirit Trainer.

“It’s this thing here?” They nodded subconsciously.

Shua!

Light swirled around. Instantly, their surroundings changed into that of a massive arena.

“Greetings. Welcome to the start of Master Spirit Trainer. By defeating the opponent in front of you, your spiritual energy will increase,” an ice-cold voice prompted.

“So simple?”

They tried fighting the opponent before them.

They noted that the opponent they faced was someone whose strength was similar to their own. After several exchanges and gaining a clearer understanding of the abilities of their opponents, they were able to defeat their respective opponents. “Congratulations. Your spiritual energy has been increased.”

Shua!

A clear breeze surged out. At that instant, all of their eyes widened as they realized that their spiritual energy had indeed been increased.

“Holy shit!”

“It has actually increased for real.”

“Even if the increase is rather low, it is truly a permanent increase.”

They were all stupefied. They had never seen such a mystical ability. They had indeed seen a lot of abilities capable of granting an increase in spiritual energy, yet none of those had increased their energy with such a method or so directly. What was the price for this? Nothing. Was anything exhausted in exchange for this? No. It seemed like one only needed to activate this spirit art and one would definitely have their spiritual energy increased?

“Perhaps this is similar to those minor abilities that only offer a one-off increase?”

Just as this thought surfaced…

Shua!

Once again, the voice prompted.

“Congratulations  on  completing  the  challenge.  You  have obtained 1,000 points of spiritual energy.”

Ding. “Due to your current access level being F class, the maximum limit of your spiritual energy increase per attempt is one point. As such, you have obtained one point of spiritual energy. (999 points of spiritual energy has overflowed.)”

“F-class Master Spirit Trainer has been fully unlocked. One point of spiritual energy increase will be obtained for every opponent you defeat. After reaching the maximum capacity of F class, your access level will be promoted to E class. After promotion, the limit per attempt will be upgraded accordingly as well.”

Shua!

A shiny item appeared. A closer look revealed that this was actually blue energy paper with the following words written on it: F class, 5/100.

Bang!

Everyone’s eyes widened. Something like this was possible? In short, the only reason for the small increase was due to the F-class access level, resulting in the user obtaining an F-class increase. After all, for an actual F-class warrior, if their spiritual energy were suddenly increased excessively, they might explode. For B classes and C classes like them, this was naturally a rather small amount. However, the increase was actually upgradable.

“We only need to complete 20 challenges and we will be able to advance to the E-class access level.”

“Correct.”

“The limit for those with an E-class access level will be much greater. At that time, we can continue progressing until our access level reaches D class, C class, B class, and so on. At that time, our spiritual energy will greatly increase after each victory.”

“What a powerful ability!”

“If we are able to increase our access level to that of our actual class…” “If we can obtain all the overflowing spiritual energy…”

At the thought of this, they all became so agitated they started shuddering. Perhaps they only needed several dozen challenges to increase their access level to their actual class? This spirit art was truly incredibly powerful!

“What if we fail a challenge?” someone asked, curious.

Chapter 555: Free Things Are in Fact the Most Expensive of All

And thus, someone tried failing a challenge as a test. Next…

“You have failed your challenge and are currently in a weakened state. To maintain the stability of your spirit, we suggest that you stop continuing your challenges for now.”

Only now did that person realize that a weakened status effect had been applied to him.

“If you wish to continue the challenge, kindly proceed to the Illusion Paradise to temper your spiritual energy. Challenge attempts will be rewarded in accordance with the stability of your spirit.”

Illusion Paradise? And only now did they realize that the blue ball of light beside the first ball had been unlocked. That seemed to be the so-called Illusion Paradise. “Let’s go take a look.”

They stepped into the Illusion Paradise.

Howl!

Numerous howls resounded in the air.

“So it’s these fellows?”

They gained understanding. The so-called Illusion Paradise was in fact an area filled with regular mutated beasts. This species of beasts existed in huge numbers everywhere. This species had strong reproductive capabilities and was hard to kill while also being noisy; they were hated by all. The only function of these beasts was to stabilize one’s spiritual energy.

“This so-called illusion seems to be a mere tunnel.” “True. All these beasts are actual beasts rather than illusory beasts. We will have to stabilize our spirit here first.”

“We can continue the challenge after stabilizing our spirit?”

“That seems to be the case.”

Everyone was curious. Having arrived at this place, everything was really happening rather than just happening in an illusory world. After all, this spirit art of Chen Feng’s was merely forming an illusory world of light. The hunting of these beasts was the actual method of stabilizing their spiritual energy. Soon, after around 10 minutes of hunting, some of them recovered the stability of their spirit and were rewarded with a single challenge attempt.”

“I’m done.”

“I’m nearly done as well.” “Let’s go back and take a look, then.”

Once again, they resumed their challenge. Like they had previously, the opponent this time was one whose strength was similar to the challenger’s. The opponent was still a crude silhouette of light. After failing the challenge, the user would still be inflicted with the weakened status effect.

As for those who obtained victory in the challenge…

“Congratulations, you have completed your challenge.”

“Present access level: F class, 10/100.”

“Once again, your spiritual energy is increased by one point.”

“Present overflowed energy: …”

“Distance from promotion into E class: …” “After reaching E class, each victory will grant an increase of…”

…

A row of data appeared, subtly tempting the user to continue the challenge.

“It seems like an unlimited increase is indeed possible.”

“Hold on, there seems to be a user manual here as well?”

Shua!

Someone opened the user manual.

Within the user manual, the complete process for promotions from E class and beyond were listed. The higher the level, the more the increase would be. This seemed to be a system filled with temptation.

“Hold on. The level in the illusory world of the spirit art is different than one’s level in the real world?”

“That’s right.”

“Since  that’s  the  case,  if  an  E-class  warrior  were  able  to achieve a D-class access level in the illusory world, the amount of spiritual energy increase per victory would be…”

At this thought, their hearts shuddered with excitement. Shortly afterward, they got a rather formidable F class warrior to test this out. Ultimately, this F-class genetic warrior was able to obtain an E-class access level in the illusory world. There, this person defeated his opponent. With the victory, he obtained an increase that was seemingly off the charts. Only several attempts were required before he was able to break through into E class for real in the real world as well.

“Holy shit!” “One’s progress will be so excessively fast after one’s access level has exceeded one’s actual level in the real world?”

“Good gracious!”

“If everyone does the same…”

They trembled in excitement. They now realized how heaven-defying this spirit art of Chen Feng’s was. From F class, the user’s improvement would be guided without stop, with the reward upon promotion serving as the unending temptation that triggered one to attempt the challenges without stop. Moreover, it seemed like such a method of improvement would not bring about any side effects or losses. The only exception was the so-called weakened state for failing a challenge.

After some tests, they noted that this weakened state would be carried forward to the real world as well. However, one could get rid of this weakened state by battling and killing a mutated beast of a certain level. It seemed like this method of improvement truly had no side effects? The only thing one needed to waste was their time, nothing else. For genetic warriors, who thirsted for strength, this was not an issue. Therefore, nearly everyone immersed themselves within the world of Master Spirit Trainer.

“Hahaha, I have been promoted to E class.”

“Same here.”

“Heh. Just you wait until I reach A class. At that time, I will be able to dominate everywhere.”

Countless people clamored without stop. Now, this Master Spirit Trainer became a must-have for everyone.

Warriors of all classes, from F to A, started crazily grinding their level in the illusory world for the sake of obtaining a higher level in the world of the spirit art, to obtain greater increases in their spiritual energy. Everyone was overjoyed.

“This is truly deserving of the name ‘spirit art’.” “Chen Feng is actually capable of creating an ability like this.

How amazing.”

“I heard that back then, he also gave a formula he created to the Gene Production Association for free. This person is honestly too kind. I only hope that he still has sufficient resources to research a new ability.”

“True. I do not wish to see Chen Feng finished either.”

“We all owe Chen Feng.”

Countless people rained praise upon Chen Feng. At present, the deputy president of the Genetic Union was filled with doubt. This did not seem like what he had been expecting. He had initially believed that for something this useful, Chen Feng would sell it at an extremely expensive price. Unexpectedly, Chen Feng had actually released it for free—he wasn’t accepting anything at all. Had he gone crazy?

For an ability like this, it wouldn’t be excessive to classify it as a beyond-A-class ability, yet Chen Feng had actually classified it as an F-class ability? What was he thinking? Nobody had any idea what Chen Feng was thinking. Even the deputy president started doubting himself, wondering if he had been too prejudiced against Chen Feng due to his history at the Gene Production Association. After all, Chen Feng was a person who had contributed greatly to humanity…

“That’s right. How could I think of him as such a person? Even if Chen Feng has that dark history, even if he has scammed countless people, even if he turned the Gene Production Association into his private property, his contributions to humanity are something one cannot erase. Perhaps I have truly misunderstood him.”

The deputy president felt ashamed of himself. With the release of this super-powerful ability for free, he truly couldn’t bring himself to continue blaming Chen Feng.

At this time, Li Lei found Chen Feng in his laboratory.

“What are you doing? Even if you are performing charity, you don’t have to do this, right? Do you have any idea how many points you could have earned if you sold this new spirit art? If you are too lazy to deal with the sales, you can get us to do it for you. Even if I’m only paid a 10% commission, you would still earn much more than what Time Quicksand made,” Li Lei stated bitterly.

Chen Feng smiled. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

“I really can’t understand you.” Li Lei sighed. “You released this for free just to become famous? To obtain the praise of the public?”

“No.” Chen Feng shook his head and asked, “Have you heard of that saying?”

Li Lei blanked. “What?”

“Free things are in fact the most expensive of all,” Chen Feng stated calmly. “Free…  the most expensive of all?”  Li Lei was puzzled. He failed to understand the meaning of this saying, yet suddenly, a chill went down his back. This Chen Feng fellow…

Right at this moment, as everyone was challenging the Master Spirit Trainer without stop, the first batch of users fully entered E class. With this, they noted with astonishment that one particular ball of light that had previously been sealed in grey was unsealed.

Chapter 556: Heaven-Defying Transactions

After every promotion, additional functions would be unlocked. After every promotion, apart from additional spiritual energy gain, one could obtain additional mystery functions as well. An example was ranking. This particular function ranked the levels of the users. Users across the world were included in this rank.

First place: XXXX

Second place: XXXX

Third place: XXXX

Apart from this, there were also regional rankings, city rankings, and many other types of rankings. With all these additional functions, even if this Master Spirit Trainer created by Chen Feng was a rather simple ability, with the top three in the rankings being featured in articles, the users were able to gain a sufficient level of respect. One ought to know that the present users of Master Spirit Trainer were humans across the world. As such, these featured people topping the rankings would soon become famous.

“Holy shit. That Gou Dan fellow is already first ranked in our city?”

“Ah ah ah, the first rankers are even featured in an article? They can even write down a single sentence to be used as a saying like an important person. How enviable. At the 11th rank, the only thing I get is my name being included in the ranking, nothing else.”

“How am I supposed to increase my ranking?”

“There are no other methods. You have to grind without stop.”

They sighed. Each and every single one of the rankings received much attention. This was even more true for the world ranking. It seemed like as long as one entered the world of Master Spirit Trainer, one would be able to see all the rankings. In this new era where everyone was using Master Spirit Trainer, the reputation of the top rankers in this world couldn’t be underestimated.

And to increase one’s rank, the only method was to challenge without stop, to remove their weakened state without stop whenever a defeat occurred.

“How nice would it be if there was a method for climbing the ranks faster.”

“Sigh. Nobody has any shortcuts.”

They felt regretful. Right at this instant, after grinding painstakingly, a certain user finally reached the limit of E class and achieved D-class access level. Next, he noticed that another astonishing function had been unlocked again.

The new function: 100 points to remove the weakened state. !!!

As this news spread, everyone’s eyes widened. Remove the weakened state? With 100 points? Hold on…

In other words, after unlocking this function, one could remove the weakened state at any time? One could initiate a challenge at any time, disregarding the weakened state by only paying? Granted, this was a rather steep price. However…

Bang!

With this, everyone went crazy. This was especially true for those racing up the ranks. With this function, one could continue the challenges, increasing their spiritual energy without stop, and their access level would increase without stop as well. Furthermore, the speed their strength was increasing at would be raised as well. All this seemed to be good news, something akin to a snowball effect.

“Buy, buy, buy!” “Grind, grind, grind!”

“I will most certainly obtain the first rank in this city today.”

“Hmph, I, on the other hand, am aiming to enter top 10 of the world ranking.”

Everyone started their crazy grind.

Shua! Shua!

Challenges were initiated crazily, and the precious points of the Genetic Union became something as common as some vegetable. Everyone, regardless of whether they were from the Genetic Union headquarters or branches, whether they were weaklings or experts, was exhausting their points without stop. Even those F-class genetic warriors couldn’t resist using their points to remove their weakened state, renewing their number of attempts without going through the stabilization process. The only reason for such craziness was to save time, to enter the access level of E class as soon as possible and to gain more spiritual energy as soon as possible. After all, at their present low access level, the amount of overflowing spiritual energy after each victory was so great that it caused their hearts to

ache endlessly.

As for their opponents, it seemed like the opponents would forever be at a level similar to the challenger’s. As such, there was no need to worried about the opponents they would encounter. The only thing they needed to concern themselves with was their access level. The only thing they needed to do was increase their access level until their access level was at least equal to their actual level in the real world.

Rush, rush, rush!

Buy, buy, buy!

Everyone became crazy. Only now did the Genetic Union realize that something did not seem right. Hold on…

With how things were progressing, something somewhere seemed off?

“D-deputy  president.”  The  employee  was  sweating  madly. “There’s a mistake in our data somewhere.”

The deputy president, who was busy rushing toward the C- class access level, raised his head as he asked, “What data?” Presently, he was only two victories away from reaching C class. As such, he was unhappy with this interruption.

“Chen Feng’s data,”  the employee answered with a sullen expression.

“Chen  Feng?”   The  deputy  president  was  startled  awake. “Show me.” Next, he saw an extremely horrifying set of data. Based on the latest data, during the past two days, the amount of points used to purchase the function to remove the weakened state…

Shua!

The deputy president started sweating madly as he saw it. He stared blankly at the number that had surpassed 100 million.

“Sur… surpassed 100 million already?” the deputy president mumbled.

“That’s right.” The employee forced a smile. “This is merely the beginning. As the number of people who have unlocked this function increases, this number will continue to rise, until…”

The deputy president was furious. “How did this happen?”

“This…” The employee pointed meekly. The deputy president glanced over at what the employee was pointing at. Instantly, he smiled bitterly. There, it was listed that the deputy president himself had already made 32 purchases. As a deputy president, he naturally had a huge amount of points. Furthermore, he was unwilling to waste his time fighting those mutated beasts to remove his weakened

state. As such, it was only natural that he would purchase the

function without stop.

And thus… this had happened. Apart from all this, those damnable rankings were also what had caused everyone to purchase the remove-weakness function so crazily. It was rumored that there was a certain E-class warrior that had been accepted as the disciple of a beyond A class after distinguishing himself in the rankings. Apart from this, various such rumors were being spread without stop.

This was a brand new era, the era of Master Spirit Trainer. Just look at how Chen Feng had earned more than 100 million points in only a few days. If this was allowed to continue…

The deputy president’s heart chilled as he thought about this. The employee was extremely anxious as well. “What should we do?”

“Get the research team to make a move immediately,”  the deputy president commanded. “Stop all their projects and get all of them to focus on researching this spirit art of Chen Feng’s. I want to know what exactly is the core of this spirit art. I want to see clearly… what it is that constitutes the essence and ability of this spirit art.” He could not allow this to continue. He was certain that if this continued, Chen Feng’s points would surge rapidly until the moment where the Genetic Union no longer had anything to exchange for this Chen Feng’s points. At that time, based on a certain provision in their laws, Chen Feng would be able to use his points to exchange for the authority within the Genetic Union. At that time…

Hehe.

The entire Research Department was alarmed. After receiving the command from the deputy president, they started researching madly. They were well aware of how popular this spirit art was. They were also curious about what exactly this damnable ability was. What was the origin of this ability?

“There  is  no  such  thing  as  gaining  spiritual  energy  from nothing. Even when using gene reagents, the energy used to increase one’s spiritual energy is obtained from the materials used to produce the gene reagent. If so, what exactly is the source of the energy used for the spiritual energy increase in this spirit art of Chen Feng’s? We must figure that out.”

This was the main goal of the Research Department. Why was everyone using this spirit art capable of increasing their spiritual energy? Was it based on the concept of the conservation of energy? What was the source of the energy? From the air? How was that possible? The lingering energy in the air could only be used for slow growth. Such rapid growth for users of the spirit art was simply impossible to achieve. Up until now, nobody had ever achieved such a feat using energy in the air as their source.

If so, what was up with this spirit art? Nobody had an answer. The Research Department started researching day and night, and after one week, they finally obtained a result. This result they had obtained caused their hearts to chill.

“Is the research completed?” the deputy president asked the person with deep dark circles.

The head of the Research Department nodded. “Yes.”

“Tell  me  the  results,  then.”  The  deputy  president  forced himself to focus. After all, it had been a week since he’d last slept.

“From our investigation, we found that the energy source for the increase of spiritual energy in the users of the spirit art is not something that appeared out of nowhere. Rather, the energy  originates  from  the  opponents,”   the  head  stated solemnly.

“Opponents?” The deputy president became confused. “Isn’t the opponent something formed and supplied by the spirit art itself?” The head shook his head. “That’s not the case. Although a user can only see a silhouette of light when battling their opponent, our research has revealed that the so-called opponents are actually real humans.”

“Who  are  those  people?  Where  are  they?”   the  deputy president asked anxiously.

“We, the users of spirit art, are precisely the opponents.” The research department head forced a smile. “Chen Feng’s spirit art first simplifies the appearance of all opponents by covering them up with a special effect. In truth, the challenges and battles are in fact between fellow users. The so-called opponents are us, the users.”

Shua!

The deputy president lapsed into silence. He was truly shaken. Those figures of light they had been battling were actually fellow humans. “Each user is first given with a grade, and then users of the same grade are arranged as opponents against each other.” The head  smiled  bitterly.  “Even  this  is  something  we  only discovered accidentally after we stumbled upon each other during challenges. Even with the special effect shrouding the opponent, we were able to recognize each other. That was how we discovered it.”

Suddenly, the deputy president thought of something. “How about the gained spiritual energy, then?” If the spiritual energy was gained from their opponent, what of their opponent?

“The  defeated  user  will  enter  the  weakened  state,”   the department head stated. “Through our research, we found that all those in the weakened state will retain 99% of their combat power, but 1% of their energy goes missing. Since the amount is too minute, nobody has paid much attention to it.”

“Through hunting spirit-based mutated beasts at a level similar to the user’s, the lost energy will slowly recover and stabilize, and ultimately, the weakened state will be removed as the user recovers to normal,” the head slowly concluded. Holy sh*t! The deputy president blanked. This was possible? “How  about  the  weakened  state  remover  he’s  selling?”  the deputy president asked.

“That must be a certain gene reagent provided by Chen Feng himself. Regardless of who it is that makes the purchase, Chen Feng will provide this gene reagent to reimburse the lost energy in a short period of time. Since a reduction of 1% isn’t too grave, apart from specific circumstances, the cost for such a gene reagent shouldn’t be too high. Based on our calculations, at most, this gene reagent might cost 3 points to produce.” The head sighed.

Deputy president: “…”

He stared at the spirit art that he had still been so fascinated with earlier. A bitter feeling arose within him. In short, the spiritual energy gain provided by this spirit art was actually provided by fellow users like them? Suddenly, the deputy president recalled an ancient saying: wool comes from the sheep’s back. That’s right, the energy was sourced from fellow challengers. The only thing Chen Feng provided was a rather expensive customer service.

Chapter 557: Black Card

“This scammer!”

In his fury, the deputy president nearly smashed his own desk apart. Suddenly, he discovered the scariest part of this spirit art of Chen Feng’s. It was the fact that the users of this Master Spirit Trainer of Chen Feng’s were comprised of everyone across the world, every genetic warrior wishing to improve themself.

So long as one won a challenge, one would obtain improvement. What would this signify for the commoners? Strength! Even if one failed the challenge and entered the weakened state, it wouldn’t matter. They would be fine after wasting a bit of time recovering their spirit. No matter what, one ought to obtain a single victory after several defeats, right? This would be sufficient for a lot of people.

Unknown to all of them, apart from being customers of Chen Feng, they also played a different role: the cannon fodder of the rich. That’s right. For the rich, a defeat was nothing. Failing a challenge? Purchase the weakened state remover and try again! In any case, only 100 points needed to be paid. With only 100 points, they could restart their challenge almost immediately, allowing these people to constantly improve, constantly

plunder the energy of those regular users. This allowed them to improve without stop, to unendingly rush toward a higher level.

These people could seemingly improve without limit. This was precisely what Chen Feng was selling: improvement without limit.

“These points…”

The employee was extremely anxious as he looked at the number of points earned with a long string of zeros behind it.

The deputy president forced himself to calm down. “It doesn’t matter.”  Yes, Chen Feng now had a huge amount of points. However, even if it had reached over 100 million, so what? The Genetic Union had numerous projects and missions worldwide. Missions and projects that rewarded up to 100 million points were everywhere. As such, this single item of Chen Feng’s wasn’t something for them to fear.

Even if this was a rather frightening amount, it was still impossible for this amount to exchange for the authority within the Genetic Union. It was still insufficient. Moreover…

“Do you believe that he is the only one that can do such a business?” The deputy president sneered. He had already seen through Chen Feng’s trick.

Wasn’t the core of his business the act of producing gene reagents by himself and selling gene reagents that were only worth several points at 100 points after repackaging it as a weakened state remover in Master Spirit Trainer? Others might not realize this, but the deputy president was clear on this. This thing here was simply a gene reagent. If so, why was it that Chen Feng was the only one that could sell it?

“Let’s go. We will try selling it ourselves as well.” The deputy president purchased some gene reagents to test his theory. Unexpectedly, he succeeded. Indeed, there were several recovery gene reagents in real life capable of removing the weakened state.

“Chen Feng actually neglected encrypting his creation.” The deputy president sneered. “Haha, in that case, we can start selling a weakened state remover as well. Chen Feng is selling them at 100 points each, right? Let us sell at 10 points, then. I refuse to believe that he can still make money with this.”

Shua!

The employee’s eyes shone as he heard this. Alas, as they prepared to set Chen Feng up, they discovered a rather thorny problem: they had nobody to cooperate with.

Normally, the Genetic Union would entrust things like gene production to the Gene Production Association. This time, though, the deputy president recalled something right as he was about to personally contact the Gene Production Association regarding this. It seemed like the present Gene Production Association belonged to Chen Feng? Hua—

Instantly, the deputy president and the employee recovered from their excitement, seemingly having had cold water poured on their burning blood. In short, that guy had actually taken this into consideration already? The deputy president smiled bitterly. Since they were able to see through the trick, there were naturally others capable of the same. Unfortunately, this spirit art was something created by Chen Feng himself, and the Gene Production Association was under Chen Feng’s control as well.

Who dared to offend him? Using gene reagents to compete against Chen Feng’s business? That was no different than courting death. Rather than saying that Chen Feng hadn’t remembered to encrypt his creation, it was more apt to say that Chen Feng couldn’t even be bothered with encryption. Why? Who would dare to compete against him? Who could even compete against him?

“That damnable Chen Feng…” At this point, the deputy president was feeling so powerless that he couldn’t even berate Chen Feng anymore. The only source of relief for him was the fact that even with this many points, wanting to purchase everything the Genetic Union had to offer to qualify for purchasing authority was still a joke. It

was far from enough.

“Get people to pay close attention to Chen Feng.” The deputy president paused and then continued, “Take note of whenever he has a new spirit art. One or two of them can’t do much. However, if he is allowed to continue creating more and more…”

The employee nodded slightly. “Understood.”

Beyond his expectations, before he could even start monitoring Chen Feng, a new announcement was released: a new system had been released for Master Spirit Trainer.

“To help everyone better improve themselves, we have decided to provide services of a better quality.” “New content as follows:”

Black Card Membership

Members with a gold black card can enjoy a discount of 10% when removing the weakened state. A monthly fee of 1,000 points is required to maintain membership.

Members with a platinum black card can enjoy a discount of 30% when removing the weakened state. A monthly fee of 5,000 points is required to maintain membership.

Members with a diamond black card can enjoy a discount of 50% when removing the weakened state. A monthly fee of 8,000 points is required to maintain membership.

Members with a crown black card can enjoy a discount of 70% when removing the weakened state. A monthly fee of 15,000 points is required to maintain membership.

 Bang!

This shocked everyone. Membership system? Everyone’s eyes widened. It was unexpected that Chen Feng would suddenly release this function. Moreover, the members could gain a treatment so preferential through the discounts that it was unimaginable.

“How powerful.”

“This is an exclusive service for the rich.”

The regular genetic warriors could do nothing but feel jealousy and envy. Despite that, they couldn’t say much because the points were only used to purchase weakness remover. The battle stage was still fair. As for those with some extra money in their pockets, they were now truly tempted.

“Good gracious, a black card offers a discount of 70%!” “It seems expensive, but if we make use of it frequently enough…”

“I won’t be able to afford the crown black card. However, if it’s the platinum black card…”

Countless people were tempted. People of different statuses in society were attracted by black cards of different tiers.

This membership system single-handedly conquered all genetic warriors with points in their hands. Each person could decide on the membership tier most suitable for them after considering their financial status and how often they would use it. As for the final crown black card, it was simply a perfect match for those wealthy people. Yet before the masses could even start joining the membership, a second announcement was released.

With the release of the membership system, we are entering the super discount stage. Those who purchase one year’s worth of membership in one go may enjoy a discount of 10% on their membership fees.

Those who purchase two years’ worth of membership in one go may enjoy a discount of 20% on their membership fees.

Those who purchase three years’ worth of membership in one go may enjoy a discount of 30% on their membership fees.

Those who purchase ten years’ worth of membership in one go will not be offered any discount on their membership fees, but their membership status will be converted to a lifetime membership.

“Holy sh*t, this works?”

“The highest discount is 30%…”

“So by buying a 10-year membership, one can become a member for life?” “666666.”

This second announcement created yet another uproar. Now, they were truly tempted by this membership system. This was not the membership of some game, nor was this the membership of some hair-loss-prevention shampoo. Rather, this was a membership that gave a discount on something that would truly increase one’s strength. Each point they had was something they had obtained after putting their life on the line.

If so, whether this new service was worth their points or not was something each person could only answer themselves. Everyone started calculating the increase in strength they stood to gain and the discounts they could enjoy after becoming a member. The masses started joining, and a majority bought only the monthly card. However, there were also some who bought the one-year membership, three-year membership, and so on. A bunch of lifetime crown black card members appeared as well.

Only now did the masses know how many rich people were there in this world, how many big shots had been hiding within the Genetic Union all this while. Ten…

Hundred…

Thousand…

Everyone was stunned as they saw the increase in members. What in the world, this spirit art could actually be used to do something like this?

Chapter 558: Time to Negotiate

“It’s over.” The deputy president slumped down in his chair powerlessly. The points earned from the lifelong crown black card members alone were already off the charts, even without considering the huge number of regular members. Chen Feng’s points were already shooting far ahead.

Shua! Shua!

Chen Feng’s points were increasing by an incredibly frightening amount each second. Looking at this, the deputy president’s heart chilled. If this continued, it was likely that Chen Feng could really reach a point where he could afford everything the Genetic Union had to offer, authority included. Sure enough, the Genetic Union held a meeting regarding this shortly afterward. Nearly all the higher-ups were greatly alarmed.

“This won’t do,”  one of the higher ups stated as he sweat profusely. “Why is there even such a provision in the first place?” the deputy president grumbled.

“This  provision  was  put  in  place  during  the  early  period when  the  union  had  only  recently  been  established,”  that person explained with a bitter smile. “To encourage our members to put more effort into missions, we created this provision where when one has so many points that the union no longer has anything to sell to that person, that person can use their points to buy authority in the union, becoming a shareholder of sorts. This was supposed to be impossible to achieve. Even back then when the Union did not have much to sell, it was still impossible for one to have so many points that the union no longer had anything it could sell to that person. Based on the calculations back then, for a peak A class to obtain sufficient points through missions to achieve something like this, 300 years of hard work would be required. At present, with the huge amount of things the union has for sale, perhaps one would need 30,000 years of hard work to accomplish this.”

Everyone lapsed into silence. That’s right. If points were merely earned through missions, this would be impossible to accomplish. But now… Chen Feng was using this spirit art to tempt all the members of the Genetic Union. Among the total members, even if only 10% of them were willing to spend their points, it would still reach a frightening amount.

They all sighed. Back when they were young, they had had a dream. If the entire population of this world were to give them one cent each, they could become a billionaire. Now, Chen Feng had achieved this childhood dream of theirs.

Suddenly,    someone    asked,    “Based    on    our    present calculations, how long will it take him to accrue enough points to buy everything the union has to offer?”

After some calculation, a department head of stated, “Based on our calculations, around 10 days.”

Shua!

Instantly, the entire meeting hall sank into silence. Ten days… In short, something a peak beyond A class would require 30,000 years to accomplish would be accomplished by Chen Feng in 10 days?

“After  10  days,  Chen  Feng  will  be  qualified  to  purchase authority in the Genetic Union. Based on the current growth rate of his points, he will be able to purchase around 0.1% of the Union’s authority on the 11th day,” that person analyzed calmly.

“Just 0.1%…”  Someone heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s still tolerable.”

“Oh, right. I forgot to mention that even when it comes to the purchase of authority, the speed is still growing,” that person stated coldly. “At present, this spirit art of Chen Feng’s is extremely popular. As time passes, the amount of points he earns will only increase. On the 12th day, he might be able to purchase 0.2%. On the 13th day, 0.4%. On the 14th day, 0.7%. On the 15th day, 1%, and so on.”

Shua! Their expressions changed.

He would be able to purchase 1% five days after his first purchase? In short, he would have purchased a total of 2.4% in five days? This was an extremely terrifying number, and all this was merely an estimate.

One head of department stood up abruptly. “We must stop him.” They could not allow the Genetic Union to become the private property of a lone individual.

The deputy president sighed. “How are we supposed to stop him?”

Chen Feng was not an enemy, and everything he was doing was in accordance with the laws of the Genetic Union. Who could stop him? They couldn’t lock him up with no apparent reason, right?

Suddenly, the head of the Strategy Department said, “We definitely can’t use brute force. However, if we use public opinion against him…” The deputy president’s interest was piqued. “What do you mean?”

“Essentially, the only way Chen Feng is earning points is by selling  the  weakened  state  remover,”  that  person  analyzed calmly.  “Based  on  our  understanding,  something  that  only costs 3 points is being sold at 100 points by Chen Feng. Therefore, what if we sold the same thing for only 3 points? With Chen Feng selling at 100 points yet us selling at 3 points, what would happen?”

Everyone sank into contemplation.

The deputy president shook his head. “That’s not possible. Chen Feng is the one who controls the Gene Production Association.”

That person shook his head. “We don’t even need to produce the reagents ourselves. We only need to let the masses know of our intention to do this, let them know that we are about to do this. That will be sufficient. Public opinion will dictate what happens afterward.” “…”

The deputy president sank into silence.

The head of the Materials Department had an unsightly expression. “But doing it this way, we will make a loss as well. At that time, we will be operating at a loss, selling the same thing that has made Chen Feng such crazy profit. Why not sell it at 50 points instead? That way, we can still profit somewhat.”

Shua!

Everyone looked at him like he was some sort of idiot.

He was dumbstruck. “That won’t do?”

The deputy president sighed. “What’s the point? You sell at 50 points, while Chen Feng is selling at 100 points. Next, he will reduce his price to 40 points, and you will react by reducing your price to 30 points. What do you think we are doing? Do you think we are selling some vegetables? Moreover, you have forgotten the fact that we can’t even produce the gene reagents. The only route we can take is suppressing Chen Feng using public opinion, turning this entire thing into some sort of social benefit for the masses. Do you know what social benefit is? Do you think Chen Feng is an idiot? Making it some sort of social benefit is the only way of suppressing Chen Feng, the only way of making him give up. After all… we are all fighting for humanity.”

As the rest heard this, they gained understanding. Immediately after the meeting, the Genetic Union proceeded as they had agreed upon. Soon, the entire world was in an uproar.

“Have you heard? The Genetic Union is planning to take over this spirit art of Chen Feng’s.”

“Yeah,  I  heard.  It  is  rumored  that  the  Genetic  Union  is prepared to compensate Chen Feng at a great price. In the future, everyone will only need to pay 5 points to remove the weakened state.” “It is said that for the sake of resisting the devil race and the ancient race, the Genetic Union is willing to suffer loss. We only need to pay 5 points for each removal, while the Genetic Union will be subsidizing the remaining 95 points.”

“Yeah, I heard that as well.”

“Wow, that’s good.”

“Well, the premise of all this is Chen Feng actually being willing to sell. Otherwise, the Genetic Union won’t do anything about it anyway.”

Everyone started talking about this.

In this unique era, the Genetic Union played a unique role. When this huge organization announced this, everyone was moved. This was especially true for the fact that the Genetic Union was willing to suffer a loss for humanity. This alarmed countless people. This single announcement had extremely grave repercussions, with the most obvious being the dramatic drop in the number of people purchasing the member cards and the number of people purchasing the weakened state remover.

Apart from the rich who had no fear, a large majority of people started waiting and looking forward to the promised 5 points. This plan of Genetic Union’s seemed to be greatly effective.

Indeed, this Master Spirit Trainer had brought the public much joy. However, the 100 points that could only remove the weakened state once would soon allow them to remove the weakened state 20 times, renewing their challenge attempts 20 times. Naturally, this was something everyone was willing to accept. It reached a point where a petition was submitted, hoping that Chen Feng would be willing to relinquish his grip on the spirit art, with the reason given being “for the sake of humanity.”

At present, it was of utmost importance that humans increased their strength. Even the cheapskate Genetic Union was already willing to suffer such a huge loss for the sake of humanity. As such, they hoped that Chen Feng would be willing to reduce the amount of profit he earned for the sake of humanity as well. The number of signatures on the petition increased without stop.

“Look at this.” Smiling, the head of the Strategy Department stated, “This is the so-called public opinion. Now, how much longer do you think Chen Feng can hold on? Soon, the time to negotiate will come.”

Chapter 559: Bro, It’s Still Free This Time

Li Lei was furious. “These fellows are too shameless.”  This was the very first time he had ever felt so embarrassed on behalf of the Genetic Union. Where was their face? Chen Feng had only recently created this spirit art capable of both making money and helping the public at the same time. Now, those fellows were using such a method to force Chen Feng to sell it to them. This was too excessive!

“Stay calm,” Chen Feng stated unhurriedly.

“Are you not angry?” grumbled Li Lei. Why did it look like he was the one being forced by the Genetic Union instead of Chen Feng here?

Chen Feng stretched lazily. “Will being angry help?”

“You  have  such  good  temper.”   Li  Lei  was  still  feeling extremely indignant. After all, he had once promised to give Chen Feng a better environment, yet unexpectedly, here at the Genetic Union, Chen Feng was actually being pushed to such an extent. “Come on, it’s just some points, yet those guys…” Li Lei was greatly disappointed in the Genetic Union. Just some points…

Chen Feng turned around and looked at Li Lei with an amazed expression and concluded that Li Lei was truly in the dark about how much Chen Feng had earned from this new spirit art.

How could those points he had earned be described with the word “some”? If he had been allowed to continue, the entire Genetic Union would have been his before long. How could those big shots have possibly remained calm? Chen Feng wasn’t surprised at this, though. If he was one of those big shots, he would try to think of something as well when encountering something like this. He would never watch on as the Genetic Union become the private property of a lone individual.

Mhm…

Chen Feng checked online and noted that at present, specialists were already appearing, analyzing and figuring out who should be the one to hold the ownership of spirit art. There were also some specialists saying that since Chen Feng was such a kind guy, he would most definitely hand the spirit art over. Some analyzed that with the present state of humanity, where they were constantly being threatened by the ancient race and the devil race, Chen Feng had to put his

personal benefits aside and so on.

“Tsk tsk.”

Chen Feng was amused as he read all this. From the sounds of things, it seemed like if he refused to hand the spirit art over, he would be the greatest sinner of all of humanity.

Li Lei sighed. “If we were in a peaceful time…”

He shook his head.

He could remember that the last person who had created something this miraculous was Luo Yuan. That had happened during peacetime. With the wristband Luo Yuan had created and the Stormtech Co. Ltd. he’d founded, he had become a legend. Yet now, when Chen Feng created something miraculous…

“I’m sorry.” Li Lei felt extremely guilty. If his position in the Genetic Union were higher, he might be able to stop all this.

Chen Feng shook his head. “You are not to blame.”  He was still clear on the identity of his friends and enemies. Since he had long ago seen this coming, how was it possible for him to not have prepared for this at all?

A smile formed on Chen Feng’s face. “Don’t worry. I believe that the Genetic Union will most definitely give me a perfect explanation for this.”

The next day, a new announcement was released, which shocked the entire world.

I heard that the Genetic Union is willing to sacrifice to better help humanity. I hereby announce that I am willing to hand over Master Spirit Trainer to the Genetic Union for free, just like what I did previously with the beyond X gene reagent I created. I sincerely wish that the Genetic Union will give humanity an even better future.

Regards, Chen Feng.

Bang!

This shocked the entire world. Free? That’s right, Chen Feng was handing over Master Spirit Trainer to the Genetic Union for free. Everyone was stupefied. The Genetic Union was stupefied. They had imagined countless scenarios, such as a high price, a low price, or unwillingness to sell. They had even drawn numerous plans to force Chen Feng to sell it. Unexpectedly, Chen Feng would directly give it to them for free.

Only now did they recall how back then, Chen Feng had seemingly given the beyond X gene reagent to the Gene Production Association for free as well. That was similarly a heaven-defying deed, a contribution capable of altering the fate of humanity. At this instant, countless people felt ashamed of what they had done to Chen Feng previously. These were the ones who had wished dearly that the price would be reduced from 100 points to five points. They had even used the internet to use public opinion to force Chen Feng to relinquish his grasp. Unexpectedly…

“Chen Feng is truly a great person.”

“This is the perfect example of a selfless human.”

“This is a moment that deserves to be carved into the annals of history.”

Everyone was shocked. The entire internet was filled with information regarding Chen Feng. This was a day where Chen Feng alone was honored. At present, the people of the Genetic Union were looking at each other. After their Trade Department confirmed that the Master Spirit Trainer given to them was the stable version, they formalized the takeover and, at the same time, started running this Master Spirit Trainer. Everything seemed perfect. Chen Feng had even performed numerous optimizations to the numerous functions of this Master Spirit Trainer before handing it over to them. “This…”

Even the higher-ups of the Genetic Union were feeling ashamed now. Had they been viewing the actions of a noble person through the lens of a scoundrel? Chen Feng hadn’t even attempted to keep the Master Spirit Trainer for himself.

“This… What now?”

“Leak  the  news  about  how  Chen  Feng  helped  optimize  it before the handover. Rain praise down upon him.”

“All right.”

This was the only thing they could do to reduce the guilt they were feeling. Soon, this news was spread, and once again, praises were rained upon Chen Feng, skyrocketing his reputation. On the next day, Master Spirit Trainer started operating. This time, the Genetic Union was the one running it. For five points, one could remove their weakened state once. This attracted countless people, kick-starting an era of rapid growth. Without a doubt, the strength of humanity as a whole

had once again been greatly increased.

As for the one who the masses felt endless gratitude to, it was without a doubt Chen Feng. This act of Chen Feng’s, of handing over Master Spirit Trainer for free, had an extremely huge impact, so much that even the losses Genetic Union took to sell the weakened-state remover to the masses at a cheap price remained unmentioned. All the honor and glory belonged to Chen Feng alone.

“Sigh.”

When those of the Genetic Union’s Operation Department checked online, they noted that not a single speck praise had landed on them. Almost everyone was expressing their gratitude to Chen Feng alone. “No matter what, we deserve some praise as well, right?” The person from the Operation Department felt extremely wronged. Yes, Chen Feng had indeed contributed greatly. However, the Genetic Union was the very party operating at a loss presently. Yes, the production materials of this gene

reagent cost only three points. As such, selling them at five points seemed profitable. However, after deducting the cost of manpower, the Genetic Union was in fact suffering a loss.

The higher-ups comforted them. “Forget it. At least we were able to solve the crisis involving the authority of the Genetic Union. We are well aware of your contribution. Just wait a while. When the impact of what Chen Feng did has diminished, we will arrange for you guys to be featured in the news as well. All your hard work will be properly reported.”

With this, this incident reached its end. The entirety of humanity entered a phase of rapid growth, increasing their strength greatly. As for the Genetic Union, despite the losses they had suffered, they had managed to solve the crisis regarding their authority. To be able to obtain a certain degree of positive publicity, such a small loss wasn’t something they were bothered with. As for Chen Feng, even though he hadn’t been able to earn as much as he should have, he had received the greatest of glory and become a legend among the masses, obtaining supreme honor. But then, was this truly how things were going to end?

In the second week after this incident, when the media was still talking about this without stop, suddenly, the Genetic Union discovered something. Something seemed to be off.

“This number…”

The higher ups of the Genetic Union sank into contemplation when they saw this month’s financial report. For an organization of their size, to occasionally suffer some losses for the sake of humanity was something acceptable. That was why they found the losses they suffered from running Master Spirit Trainer to be acceptable. However, the actual losses they were seeing in their financial report seemed much higher than they had anticipated?

Chapter 560: This Is Too Excessive

The figures here did not seem right. At the thought of someone daring to mess around with their accounts, they shivered. Was this due to corruption? Those people were courting death!

“Investigate. Investigate clearly.”

The higher-ups were all furious. Soon afterward, they figured out the reason this month’s financial report looked so ugly. It was actually due to that newly online Master Spirit Trainer. Why did the operation cost seem somewhat different from the forecast? The essence of Master Spirit Trainer was “weakened state removal.” This was also what the consumers were buying and the only special service the Genetic Union had to offer. They were only charging the users five points per removal.

As the charge had been reduced greatly, the masses had started using it crazily, resulting in the number of purchases shooting up and reaching an astronomical amount. As for the cost of producing this “weakened state remover,”  each point spent had an extremely huge effect. Here… the deputy president discovered with horror that the initial cost of three points had increased to 10 points. This was a completely unacceptable amount.

What was going on? Why was it 10 points? One ought to know that every single additional point that it cost would result in several hundred million points lost per month for the Genetic Union. Yet here, it had been increased by a total of seven points. This was too fatal!

“Who’s messing around?”

The deputy president’s eyes became bloodshot. He vowed to find this damnable corrupted fellow who had caused this increased cost. Alas, regardless of how they investigated, no problems whatsoever were found in the accounts, because the cost of the production materials alone had already reached nine points.

“???” They were all dumbstruck as they discovered this, “Didn’t our investigation back then show that the materials only cost three points?”

The investigator was calm. “Yes, that is indeed so. Back then, we investigated the materials used by Chen Feng and all related data. Based on our investigation, the cost was indeed three points, a cost acceptable for mass production.”

Everyone lapsed into silence. In short, the formula Chen Feng had been using to produce the “weakened state remover” was different than the formula they were using?

“That is quite probable,” one of them concluded. “Chen Feng must have used some new formula that we don’t have any record of. This is the reason why we have suffered such a loss.”

They all gained understanding. So that was the case.

“Let’s  ask  Chen  Feng  about  the  formula  then,”  someone suggested. “All right.”

They nodded in agreement. In their memories, a legend such as Chen Feng was, in essence, a selfless researcher, and such people were normally extremely easy to negotiate with.

New formula…

Asking for the formula from Chen Feng…

Shua!

Suddenly, the deputy president’s back chilled. He had a sudden feeling that this time, they had definitely stepped into an extremely deep trap. No, that couldn’t be the case… There had to still be some way to recover from this…

The deputy president gulped as he convinced himself. He was of the opinion that if Chen Feng did not agree to hand the formula to them, they could perhaps continue using public opinion to pressure him. Alas, they received a response for their request shortly after.

In a somewhat embarrassed manner, Chen Feng replied, “Oh, you guys are talking about that formula? That is something I researched at the Gene Production Association. As such, the rights to the formula belongs to them. I am really sorry but I do not have the authority to issue the rights to the formula to you guys.”

Gene Production Association… The deputy president’s hands trembled as he heard this. Chen Feng had successfully transformed this issue that had initially been something involving only him as an individual into an issue that involved the Gene Production Association as a whole. If so, things would be troublesome to deal with.

“No, that can’t be. I must have been thinking too much.” The deputy president tried contacting the Gene Production Association.

The Gene Production Association gave their reply. “Oh, you are talking about that formula? We have officially included that formula in our formula database. The formula is free of charge for use. However, since this formula is quite special and is rather unstable, for the sake of the health and future of our fellow producers, a limitation has been placed on it, allowing only those who meet the requirements to use it. If you guys want the formula, just send someone here to be tested. Since the formula is free, anyone who passes the test can use the formula freely…”

Test…

Grasping onto the final ray of hope, the deputy president gazed at the people of the Operation Department. “Who are the ones producing the weakened-state remover at present?”

“Everyone.” The people of the Operation Department gave it some thought before continuing, “That formula is one that was made public long ago. As such, anyone can use it. We only need to issue the corresponding missions for it to be produced. For a single gene reagent, one can obtain 10 points. Such an ample reward is the reason so many people are selling it to us. Apart from this, we also have a specialized factory for this. Despite the fact that the producers in this factory are all niche producers, they have no problems producing this low-level formula. Unfortunately, we are, after all, not professionals in gene production. As such, the amount we can produce ourselves using the factory is rather limited. Therefore, 90% of our supply is obtained via missions.”

The deputy president’s heart chilled as he heard all this. In short, these fellows were all rogue low-level producers? It wouldn’t be a problem for them to produce those low-level spirit recovery formulas, but if they had to pass the Gene Production Association’s test…

Suddenly, the deputy president thought of something. “How much is the registration fee for the test?”

“A hundred thousand.”

This was a standard amount when it came to certifications. The deputy president’s hands trembled. He contacted a close friend of his in the Gene Production Association, an ex- classmate of his, and had him investigate which damnable person had proposed that idea in the first place. Next, a name that caused him to despair was sent to him: Chen Feng. Suddenly, the deputy president cursed, “Chen Feng, screw you!”

The other union members around him exchanged glances. Since when had their deputy president had a tendency to curse?

The deputy president’s face darkened. “Damn it.” Scammed! This was indeed a major scam! He had already been aware of it, so why had he still stepped into the trap? If they were only dealing with Chen Feng as an individual, it would be easier to deal with, but now they would have to face the Gene Production Association. Using public opinion to pressure the Gene Production Association wouldn’t work at all. After all, their official reason for this decision was “for the future of producers.”

Moreover, the charged registration fee for the test was an acceptable and fair amount as well. For a producer, a hundred thousand was in fact an extremely cheap price. What excuse could they use to pressure the Gene Production Association? As for the difficulty of the test, it was not the place of the Genetic Union to get involved in the tests of the Gene Production Association. “That fellow must have done his calculations long ago.” The deputy president gnashed his teeth. “What if we entrust the Gene Production Association with producing this gene reagent on our behalf?”

Shua!

Soon, a price was quoted.

“This price…” The Operation Department head’s expression darkened. “If it’s converted into our points, the price is equivalent to five points. Even we are only selling it at five points. That coupled with the security measures, management of the illusory world, all the other miscellaneous costs, and also sustaining the membership cardholders that purchased the membership cards from Chen Feng early on… Even if we have stopped selling membership cards, the ones sold previously are still acknowledged. The costs of all of them… especially the damnable lifelong members… An average loss of

3.8 points per sale? Screw that!

No matter what discount it was, they would be making a loss on every sale. In essence, this spirit art created by Chen Feng was a combination of weakened-state remover and the management of the illusory world of Master Spirit Trainer. Joining the weakened-state remover, which was essentially a gene reagent produced in reality, with the illusory world using a spirit art so the users could consume this item in the illusory world was also something with an extremely high cost. The only consolation was the fact that these costs were all fixed

costs, since this was essentially pure energy exhaustion, which

cost them around two points per sale.

In their initial calculation, with a production cost of three points, they would have been able to maintain a balance, not earning a profit yet not making a loss from the sales. The only thing they would lose was the cost of the manpower, which wasn’t much. But now that the production cost had increased to five points, the losses were truly… dramatic.