Martial Arts Square in Pu Hai.
Today marked the start of the second-round assessment, and there were far fewer people in the waiting area of the square.
Three hundred thousand people participated in the second round, a mere fraction in comparison to the two million in the first round.
The area for the second-round assessment had been significantly reduced, and correspondingly, the space for the audience outside had increased a lot.
Unlike during the first-round assessment, this time the waiting area for Yujiang University, led by Geng Qianxing with his three students, became the focus of the entire arena.
It was still Zone 38, but their arrival this time elicited the attention of the entire square, quite different from the first time they had come.
Although Li Wanran’s score had dropped to third place and Fang Chong’s to seventh after the first-round assessment, they remained the most eye-catching presence on the square.
The second-round assessment was on genetic growth potential, which took slightly longer than the first round and was also an elimination process.
Compared to the first round, the second round was the true elimination game.
Two million were whittled down in the first round, and yet thirty thousand remained.
The second round had an elimination rate of thirty to one, meaning at the end of this round, at most only ten thousand could participate in the third-round assessment.
This fully reflected the brutality of the admissions assessments for the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges.
The high elimination rate in the second round was because the genetic potential for growth was even more important than gene compatibility.
High gene compatibility simply indicated that one could integrate a certain gene, but no one knew the heights that could be reached after integrating that gene.
Some people nearly reached S-level gene compatibility, but after integrating the Alien Gene, they made no further progress.
This meant that after fusion with the Alien Gene, it was no longer possible for the individual to continue growing.
Such individuals could only remain at the level of a Genetic Superpower User and could not advance to become gene cultivators.
The students recruited by the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges require huge investments for their training, so naturally, it was not acceptable to let them stop growing at the superpower level.
Only those with high potential for growth could become gene cultivators, even advancing to Ninth-level Genetic Cultivators.
High-level gene cultivators were precisely the kind of prodigies the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges aimed to nurture.
On Earth, Ninth-level Genetic Cultivators were at the ceiling of attainment, equivalent to the peak of the Innate Realm in martial arts.
This capacity for growth was different from the genetic ability growth created by Ding Huan.
The growth endorsed by the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges or Earth’s genetic cultivation circles concerned the continuous improvement of one’s own strength after integrating the Alien Gene.
This kind of enhancement does not include the improved ability of the integrated Alien Gene, but simply refers to the pure enhancement of one’s own strength.
Of course, as a gene cultivator’s own strength improves, the integrated Alien Gene ability also experiences a slight increase.
This enhancement is limited and was completely ignored by Ding Huan.
Ding Huan considered growth not as simply being able to continue from a first-level gene cultivator to a Second Level, Third-level...
This form of growth is the most basic; if one can’t even achieve this, then what’s the point of integrating any Alien Genes?
Beyond such growth, Ding Huan also believed that as one’s cultivation increased, the attribute abilities of the Alien Genes they possessed would also improve.
Attribute ability, in this context, means the ability to transform the gene skills of the integrated Alien Gene into one’s capabilities, hence termed as attribute ability.
The first-round assessment involved twenty people at a time and lasted only a few minutes each.
The second-round assessment involved ten people each time, with each session lasting twenty minutes.
Because of their high rankings in the first round, Yujiang University was among the first to be called for the second round.
"Mr. Geng, we’re going in now."
Fang Chong and the other two were among the first batch of candidates called, and although they all achieved S-level compatibility scores in the first round, they were still very nervous about the second.
Geng Qianxing waved his hand dismissively, "Go ahead, relax your minds. Remember where you originally stood; there’s nothing to be nervous about."
In his heart, Fang Chong complained that Mr. Geng’s words were a bit heart-wrenching, couldn’t he comfort people better?
If it were any other mentor whose students had performed so well in the first round...
They would surely be completely focused on their students during the second round of assessment.
Geng Qianxing was clearly the exception; his mind was not on those few students, he even seemed somewhat distracted.
At the moment, he was worried not only about Ding Huan but also about his own Endurance Gene Potion.
In recent days, he had been repeatedly approached by various magnates asking about Ding Huan’s past, whereabouts, and regular behavior.
As for the background of Ding Huan, to be honest, he had only just learned of it.
He had never before considered that Ding Huan was the legitimate heir to the Baiyu Group.
Most people were well aware that Ding Jie had usurped the Baiyu Group, which should belong by right to Ding Huan.
Who didn’t know that Ding Jie was the adopted son of Ding Baishan and that Ding Xiaotu was his natural son?
An adopted son driving out the true heir and taking over the Baiyu Group—no one talked about it openly, but could they really stop people from discussing it behind closed doors?
No wonder Ding Huan had told him not to buy the Selyu Gene; turns out there really was an issue with it.
Mr. Geng found himself unable to calm down, alternating between worrying about Ding Huan and himself.
He regretted not heeding Ding Huan’s advice to delete all the data on the Endurance Gene Potion from his notebook.
Now his notebook had been confiscated. Could he still safeguard the Endurance Gene Potion?
If the Endurance Gene Potion couldn’t be preserved, that was one thing, but the key concern was whether he would be taken away by others, just as Ding Huan had warned him?
...
At the same time, Ding Huan had returned to Pu Hai once more.
Just as he had expected, there were so many outsiders in Pu Hai this time that no one would care about who he was. It was even less likely that anyone would investigate him.
Ding Huan didn’t directly seek out a gene laboratory. Once in Pu Hai, renting a genetic experiment laboratory was all too easy.
For Ding Huan, the first order of business right now was to get money.
He still had several million in his bank account, but Ding Huan was certain that the moment he dared to use his bank card, his whereabouts would be exposed to the Genetic Alliance.
Ding Huan walked into a Genetic Herb Store.
In an era where the genes of various species were mutating, many genetically mutated plants and animals emerged, among them many rare varieties.
Hence, the Genetic Herb Store came into being. Such a store would acquire all sorts of mutated materials, be it from Mutated Gene Beasts or Mutated Gene Medicinal Materials.
After the stores collected these items, they would be bought by gene laboratories, gene experiment enthusiasts, or universities.
Carrying a large bag on his back, as soon as Ding Huan entered such a store, the people knew he was there to sell Genetic Herbs.
In these chaotic times, most herb merchants entered the stores dressed like this.
"What medicinal materials are you selling?" the store’s clerk asked with a smile.
He understood that none of these solitary medicinal herb merchants were simple characters.
Ding Huan thought of the precious medicinal materials in his bag, particularly that partially used piece of Mutated Ba You.
That chunk of Ba You was worth a fortune.
Soon, Ding Huan realized, this wasn’t Changyi Continent. If he brought out these medicinal materials, the other party might not recognize nor understand their value.
With that in mind, Ding Huan said, "I have a very precious medicinal material. Is the boss here?"
"Boss, a customer is asking for you," the young clerk called out to the inside.
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Hearing the young clerk’s shout, a woman in her thirties came out. She looked at Ding Huan with a smile and said, "Come have tea inside with us."
Ding Huan, holding his large bag, walked into the back yard, where a man and a woman were already sitting and drinking tea.
The woman was very hospitable. After inviting Ding Huan to sit down, she poured him a cup of tea and asked with a smile, "Do you have something good to sell, big brother?"
Ding Huan took out a piece of cloth and placed it on the table. "Boss, take a look at this."
Seeing how casual Ding Huan was, including the female boss, no one paid much attention.
The boss unfolded the cloth, and upon seeing what was inside, all three were shocked. After a while, the man excitedly said, "Is this a Demon Core?"
The other two women remained silent, their eyes all fixed on Ding Huan.
Especially the female boss, who had been in the medicinal herb business for years and had never seen anyone bring a Genetic Beast’s Demon Core to sell.
"Do you want to sell this Demon Core?" the boss asked with an excited quiver in her voice.
No matter how high Ding Huan’s asking price, she wanted to buy that Demon Core.
At that moment, Ding Huan knew he had underestimated the value of the Demon Core.
Not that he was unaware of the Demon Core’s value, but he knew that Demon Core was just the term used on Earth. It was really a demon nucleus; calling it a Demon Core was an overstatement for the Third-level Black Ape.
True Demon Cores did exist in Changyi Continent, and he had only glimpsed one at an auction from a distance, never even touching it.
Since it was recorded as a Demon Core on Earth, he had treated it as such.
He had indeed planned to sell the Demon Core, but now he had changed his mind.
Not because the Demon Core was too precious, but from the reactions of these people, he could tell that the Demon Core was worth at least ten million upwards.
He couldn’t have the money transferred to his card. He could only take cash now.
Ten million in cash? He feared he couldn’t carry it away.
"No, I’m a bit short on funds recently and would like to pawn this Demon Core. How about I come back to pick it up after some time?" Ding Huan sincerely suggested.
Pawn?
Everyone was taken aback by Ding Huan’s suggestion. If he wanted to pawn, why didn’t he go to a pawn shop?
Ding Huan responded with an embarrassed smile, "The thing is, the procedures at the pawn shops are too complicated. Actually, I have some... inconvenient things I’d rather not disclose."
With that said, Ding Huan seemed to make a decision as if biting the bullet, "I’ve lost a large sum of money in the medicinal herb business, and now I’m in debt to the bank. The bank’s been watching me.
If I were to pawn this item at a pawn shop today, the bank would seize it tomorrow."
So that was it; they all understood Ding Huan’s concerns.
At this time, how many people were going bankrupt or unable to repay the bank was immeasurable.
"How much do you want to pawn it for?" the woman asked somewhat disappointedly when she heard Ding Huan did not intend to sell the Demon Core.
Ding Huan replied, "Write me something that just proves this Demon Core is left with you, and give me five hundred thousand in cash. As for the fees, you can decide on that."
"If you’re willing to trust me, then there’s no problem," the woman said without hesitation.
Ding Huan needed cash because he owed the bank; that was normal.
As for the Demon Core, even if it wasn’t hers, just having it in her store would immediately raise the store’s status by several grades.
(Today’s update ends here; goodnight, friends!)