At this moment, Qin Feng was completely immersed in his battle against the pain.
Large areas of his skin were cracked and fissured. Under the scouring of the Thunder Energy, his flesh and blood were constantly breaking down, only to be ceaselessly rebuilt by his tenacious life force.
This process of "breaking down to be rebuilt" brought an inhuman, soul-deep, and ultimate agony that frantically tormented his Will.
But he was still holding on!
His eyes were clear and resolute. He knew that every breakdown and reconstruction was a form of sublimation!
He had long since bitten his jaw until it bled, but his hand still reached out resolutely for the next Thunder Crystal.
Ninety-one!
Ninety-five!
One hundred!
When he had completely absorbed the energy from the one-hundredth Thunder Crystal, an indescribable metamorphosis erupted within his body!
On the seventh day, one hundred and seven crystals.
At the final moment the energy from the one hundred and seventh Thunder Crystal integrated into his body, Qin Feng’s taut Will finally reached its limit.
He voluntarily opened his eyes and sent the signal to leave.
"Quick!"
The figures of Lin Yue and the guide rushed into the Thunder Pool at once, working together to carry out the body that was now almost like a piece of charcoal.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yue pried open Qin Feng’s mouth and poured an entire high-grade Spiritual Energy Potion, which she had prepared in advance, down his throat.
A vast amount of life energy began to rapidly mend his ravaged physical body.
About an hour later, under everyone’s watchful gaze, the charred, dead skin on Qin Feng’s body began to flake off, piece by piece.
What was revealed was new skin, as smooth as a newborn baby’s, yet glowing with a faint golden luster.
When he slowly opened his eyes and stood up, an indescribable sense of nobility and power emanated from him.
As Spiritual Energy flowed through his body, he looked like a flawless piece of golden jade.
When Spiritual Energy circulated, his skin resembled gold and jade.
"Skin like gold and jade... This... This is the sign of a ’Gold Standard Human, Class III’!"
On the shore, a knowledgeable Elder Martial Artist exclaimed, his voice trembling.
"Heavens! A Gold Standard Human, Class III!"
"All of his bodily functions—including his skin, heart, lungs, muscles, liver, and kidneys—have reached the absolute peak for his species!"
"In the Empire’s ’Artificial Human Project,’ the Interstellar Warriors born only after thousands of genetic modification procedures are just Gold Standard Human, Class III."
"His willpower is too strong. If it were me, I definitely couldn’t do it."
Everyone’s eyes were filled with incomparable shock and envy.
Amidst the crowd’s murmurs, the guide led the group away from Thunder Mountain.
When they returned to the camp at the foot of the mountain, several managers were already waiting there.
After receiving the guide’s report, he gave Qin Feng a deep look, then took out a special engraving tool. Under everyone’s gaze, he walked up to the massive "Thunder Pool Stele."
He carefully, stroke by stroke, carved a new name above the one at the very top of the Stone Stele.
[First Place: Qin Feng - 107 Crystals]
Everyone present felt as if they were witnessing history in the making.
...
On the aircraft for the return trip.
"When you get back, don’t rush into high-intensity training,"
Lin Yue advised. "What you need most right now is to let your body fully adapt to its current state, replenish your Spiritual Resources, get in some more combat practice, and in a few days, prepare to head to Purgatory-VII."
"Okay, Teacher,"
Qin Feng nodded.
That was his intention as well.
He could feel that his body had now transformed and was in urgent need of a comprehensive test.
Beyond that, there was something even more important.
During his recovery after leaving the pool, the slight increase in his life force from "breaking down to be rebuilt," combined with the replenishment from the high-grade Spiritual Energy Potion, had finally pushed his life force index over the threshold.
[Life Force Index: 20.02]
He could finally undergo the long-awaited [Life Evolution]!
’It wasn’t convenient to do this out here. I have to get back to a completely private and secure place for this unknown transformation.’
Soon, the aircraft returned to Qiming First High School.
Lin Yue had other important matters to attend to and left in a hurry after a few words of advice.
Qin Feng, on the other hand, quickly returned alone to the one place that was his and his alone—the completely secure private Martial Arts Room B-17.
Private Martial Arts Room B-17.
The heavy alloy door slowly closed, completely sealing off all light and sound from the outside world.
Standing in this space that was his alone, this absolutely secure and private sanctuary, Qin Feng let out a long, turbid breath.
He didn’t rush into the long-awaited Life Evolution. Instead, he first opened his wrist terminal and pulled up the Qiming First High School’s academic affairs system.
His fingers moved rapidly across the virtual light screen, found the "Student Status Promotion" option, and submitted the application to advance to the third year.
[Applicant: Qin Feng]
[Current Level: Second Level Martial Artist]
[Life Force Index: 20.02]
[Application: Promotion to Third Year]
[Submit]
After finishing all this, he closed the terminal and immersed his entire focus into his system panel.
On the panel, the column that had originally displayed [Intermediate Imperial Body Refining Method (Major Accomplishment)] had quietly changed.
[Refining Method]:
Intermediate Imperial Body Refining Method (Perfection)
[Note]: Congratulations, you have met the prerequisite for [Life Evolution].
Below this line of text, an option that was once gray and unselectable was now glowing with a soft, mysterious, shimmering light, pulsing gently as if it were alive.
[Life Evolution (Activatable)]
Qin Feng’s gaze was fixed intently on this option.
A more detailed description then appeared before his eyes.
[Life Evolution: You are about to undergo the first evolution in the tide of life’s advancement. Your genetic sequence will be optimized and restructured in the direction most suited for combat. You will gain a sturdier frame more suitable for channeling the power of the Martial Dao, and a muscle structure with greater resilience and explosive force. You will become more agile, stronger, and your Spiritual Energy conversion and absorption efficiency will be higher!]
Every word was filled with infinite allure.
Qin Feng took a deep breath.
Without any further hesitation, he reached out and lightly tapped the shimmering [Life Evolution] option.
The next second.
An ultimate agony that defied all description, originating from the very foundation of his life, detonated inside his body like a Star River bursting its banks!
"Argh—!"
Even though Qin Feng had experienced the inhuman torment of the Thunder Pool Body Tempering, he still couldn’t stop a pained grunt from escaping his lips.
His body curled up violently and fell heavily onto the cold alloy floor.
This pain was ten times more intense than when he had taken the Starry Sky Giant Beast Type II gene-enhancing potion!
It was a hundred times more soul-piercing than absorbing the one hundred and seventh Thunder Crystal in the Qiming Thunder Pool!
If the previous pain had acted upon his flesh, meridians, and bones...
...then this time, the pain was acting directly on every cell, every genetic fragment that constituted his life!
Destruction!
Ultimate destruction!
Qin Feng felt as if, at this moment, his body had been completely broken down into the most primitive particles.
Every one of his cells was screaming and wailing before shattering with a bang!
Immediately after, guided by some mysterious and magnificent power, they began the arduous process of reassembly.
Shatter, reassemble.
Destroy, rebirth.
The process repeated itself, over and over, as if it would never end.
The intense pain, like a tidal wave, crashed against his consciousness again and again.
His vision began to blur, and all he could hear was the frantic beating of his own heart and the humming sound produced by his cells shattering.
He clenched his teeth tightly, veins bulging all over his body like writhing horned dragons, as his body trembled and convulsed uncontrollably on the floor.
’I want to stay conscious, to personally experience every part of this transformation.’
But the pain originating from the depths of his genes was simply too terrifying, far exceeding the limits of what a human Will could endure.
After an unknown amount of time, his consciousness was finally submerged by the endless waves of pain, sinking into a dark chaos.
However, even though he had lost consciousness, the evolution within his body did not stop.
That mysterious power continued to precisely and efficiently carry out the most thorough and perfect remodeling of his unconscious body.
Time passed, second by second.
The entire evolution process lasted for a full three hours.
...
When Qin Feng’s consciousness re-emerged from the endless darkness, he slowly opened his eyes.
The familiar, cold-glowing alloy ceiling of the private Martial Arts Room came into view.
’My body... doesn’t hurt anymore.’
In its place was an unprecedented, indescribable feeling of comfort and power.
He slowly sat up from the floor and looked down at his body.
’My appearance doesn’t seem to have changed at all. My height and build are exactly the same as before the evolution.’
But Qin Feng knew that, internally, he had undergone a world-shaking transformation.
He closed his eyes and quietly sensed the changes.
He could clearly "see" that his bones had become denser, their surfaces even glowing with a faint, jade-like luster.
His muscle fibers had become thicker and tougher, like strands of hyper-alloy steel cable compressed to their limit, containing terrifying explosive power.
The meridians inside his body had widened several times over, becoming like broad energy superhighways. Every circulation of Spiritual Energy was more than ten times smoother than before.
Even his internal organs seemed to be encased in a tough film of energy, making them incredibly strong.
"This feeling..."
Qin Feng slowly clenched his fist.
"It’s even stronger than the Gold Standard Human, Class III I just became!"
"This is a level... beyond the textbooks."