This was Ding Huan’s fifth month since leaving Yiling.
In the backyard of the Qu Family villa in Xiu Lake District, Qu Yi easily leaped over twenty meters, then a Wind Blade cut a stone—already cleaved apart—into four pieces.
Even Ding Huan hadn’t anticipated that not only would Qu Yi’s body fully recover, she also became a Third-level gene cultivator in just a short five months.
Moreover, her advancement wasn’t as torturous as Ding Huan’s, who suffered near-death experiences each time.
The gene spiritual root that Ding Huan equipped for Qu Yi was the Wood Element Gene Spiritual Root, indicating that she was more suited to it than Ding Huan.
Of course, there were two other reasons: one was that Ding Huan used the Mutated Ba You when equipping the Spirit Root Gene Potion for Qu Yi.
And the other was that her father, Qu Yonghe, spent a huge sum of money to buy two Yuanqi Stones for Qu Yi at the auction.
Both Qu Yonghe and Yan Quan knew that Ding Huan must have taught Qu Yi the Taoist Cultivation Method.
Ever since she fully recovered, Qu Yi had been cultivating diligently in the backyard.
Just thinking about Ding Huan’s three students, one could tell that whatever Ding Huan passed on to Qu Yi must be extraordinary.
No one in the Qu Family asked what Ding Huan taught Qu Yi, nor did anyone peek into the backyard.
It was because of Qu Yi’s cultivation that Qu Yonghe had tried every means to purchase the two Yuanqi stones to enhance her strength.
Qu Yi looked at the stone she had split with her Wind Blade Skill and exhaled a breath.
She was now a Third-level gene cultivator, and her mastery of the Fireball Technique, Wind Blade Skill, and Wind Control Skill was very good.
With her current strength, if that Boss Quan dared to assault her again, she could even decapitate him without stepping forward.
But it still wasn’t enough. She had to become a Fourth-level gene cultivator to persuade those unreasonable people at the Genetic Alliance to revoke the bounty on Ding Huan.
Qu Yi was very strict with her cultivation schedule, meticulously following her plans for training Luo Shijin and various spells.
It was her own discipline, plus the support of her family, that enabled her to achieve great advancements in just five months.
After finishing her Wind Blade and Wind Control Skills, Qu Yi was about to return to her room to continue practicing Luo Shijin when she heard ferocious roars coming from outside.
Qu Yi immediately recognized them as people from the Genetic Alliance.
Without hesitation, she rushed out.
If it weren’t for the Genetic Alliance, Ding Huan wouldn’t have lost an eye. If it weren’t for them, Uncle Jiu Yi wouldn’t have died.
"What do you want to do?" Qu Yi saw a black man pushing her mother and immediately shouted loudly.
"Oh, she’s indeed alive, and very healthy at that," the black man said, surprised upon seeing Qu Yi come out, and then spoke in fluent Chinese.
"Yi Yi, go back inside. I’ve already called the police. This is Hua Xia, not a land for foreign devils, and the Genetic Alliance can’t be so rampant here," Qu Yonghe interjected to protect Qu Yi. Inside, however, he was extremely anxious.
He was worried that Qu Yi would be taken away again, just like the last time. Even Uncle Jiu Yi hadn’t been able to return.
"Revey, we’re just here to check the situation..." Accompanying the black man was a Hua Xia man, who quickly advised when he saw his colleague’s rough behavior.
"Tang Qi, you are first and foremost a man of the Genetic Alliance. You’re on a mission from the Genetic Alliance now. You make the call back and tell Hou Hezhong that the target is indeed alive and very healthy, indicating our success," said Revey, the black man, who did not stop pushing Yan Quan and even chastised his partner.
"Stop," commanded Qu Yi as she stepped forward to shield her mother.
Revey chuckled, addressing Qu Yi, "Come with us. The Genetic Alliance suspects you’re involved with Ding Huan, and we need you to make a trip."
"If you don’t leave now, I will have to defend myself," said Qu Yi, trying to keep her voice calm.
In her mind echoed Ding Huan’s words, "Yi Yi, please remember. When you are capable, do not be kind to your enemies. Being kind to your enemies is cruelty to yourself and your loved ones."
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"Ha ha..." Revey laughed heartily and reached for a weapon at his waist.
Qu Yi raised her hand and with a slash through the Void, a Blade Light invisible to the eye fell diagonally across Revey’s shoulder.
A spray of blood burst forth, and Revey’s movement froze on the spot. The next moment, a Blood Arrow spewed out as his head and shoulder fell to the ground, and he collapsed entirely.
Qu Yi stared blankly at the scene before her; she practiced Wind Blade every day, slicing countless stones, but never had she witnessed such a bloody scene.
When she attacked, she only thought of her opponent as a stone to be cut. Now that the man was in two pieces, she understood the bloody and terrifying reality.
In that moment, she could no longer hold back the churning in her stomach and, pale-faced, she went to one side and vomited uncontrollably.
Yan Quan, equally stunned, took a while to come to her senses, pushing through her own discomfort to comfort her daughter.
Qu Yonghe, on the other hand, was shocked and awed as he looked at Revey, halved. Beyond the excitement, he felt deep gratitude.
He hadn’t expected his daughter to be so powerful that she could easily kill an Inner Strength master of the Genetic Alliance.
When Revey arrived, he knew the other party was an Inner Strength master, and perhaps even had fused with some kind of Quality Gene.
His daughter had killed such a person from a distance.
As for whether killing Revey would cause trouble, Qu Yonghe had not even considered it.
If they were already coming to capture someone, killing in self-defense was justified.
Because, under the current circumstances, Genetic Beasts were rampant and human survival was difficult. At this time, both the Genetic Alliance and the Martial Arts Alliance played significant roles.
Under such circumstances, indeed, the Security Department wouldn’t overtly oppose the Genetic Alliance. Even if he reported the incident, the Security Department would most likely only prevent the Genetic Alliance members from taking Qu Yi away.
But that was just the surface. If the Genetic Alliance members tried to take Qu Yi away by force, the Security Department would be helpless.
So, Qu Yi killing a member of the Genetic Alliance who came to take her away would absolutely not be a problem.
Just as the Security Department wouldn’t investigate if the Genetic Alliance took Qu Yi away, they similarly wouldn’t probe into Qu Yi killing a member of the Genetic Alliance.
The reason was that Qu Yi’s self-defense was justified.
"Take the body and go. It’s okay to join the Genetic Alliance, but real heroes go to the front lines to fight the Genetic Beasts, to protect the cities, and not to bully civilians in their homes."
Qu Yonghe coldly said to the still stunned member of the Chinese Genetic Alliance.
Qu Yonghe had seen too many bloody scenes; this little scene didn’t make him blink.
"Yes..." The Genetic Alliance member finally came to his senses, hurriedly wrapped Revey’s body in cloth, and carried it to the trunk.
This situation was beyond normal, not something he could handle.
"Yi Yi, let’s go back. You did nothing wrong." Qu Yonghe closed the courtyard gate and came over to comfort Qu Yi.
"Dad, I..." Qu Yi’s face was pale, as she was still unable to calm down from the earlier bloodshed.
Qu Yonghe intentionally spoke in a very light tone, "Yi Yi, if you hadn’t done that, your mother and I would have been humiliated. You protected your family; what’s wrong with that? Ding Huan would also support what you did. Think about the things that happened at the headquarters of the Genetic Alliance. Protecting yourself and your family, where is the fault in that?
Do you know about Yan Xia? How many people hunted him down in the beginning, and now, who dares to disrespect him? The world is just like that."
Perhaps Qu Yonghe’s reassurance was effective, as Qu Yi started to feel a bit better.
Looking at the pool of blood stains, Qu Yi felt that even if it happened again, she would still do the same.
In this world where Genetic Beasts roamed freely, she could not choose her way of survival.
Ding Huan was right, if she had been as strong as today long ago, would Uncle Jiu Yi have died? Would Ding Huan have lost her eyesight?
Being merciful to those people was like digging one’s own grave.
"Dad, let’s go back," Qu Yi breathed easier.
"Yi Yi, do you know about Peng Xun, Lujiang, Gui Ping, Dado, Qian River... all these cities have already been occupied by Fierce Beasts, and countless innocent people have died?" Qu Yonghe said again.
"Ah..." Qu Yi stopped in her tracks, dumbfounded.
She knew most of these places; just a few months ago, they were bustling cities. How had they been occupied by Fierce Beasts in just five months?
Seeing that he had successfully shifted Qu Yi’s emotions, he slowed his pace and said,
"The world outside has changed too much during the few months you spent cultivating at home. Your mother and I were worried it would affect your cultivation, so we didn’t tell you."
"Why has it become so difficult?" Qu Yi murmured to herself.
Yan Quan sighed, "Yi Yi, our country is still doing okay. Do you know about the Great Dao at the bottom of the sea? The Human Corridor Defense Line has been established there.
Countless soldiers die every day on the Human Corridor Defense Line, and Hua Xia has also sent troops there."
"The Human Corridor Defense Line?" Qu Yi looked at her parents, not quite understanding. She knew about the Great Dao; it was the result of a tectonic movement decades ago.
But this was the first time she had heard about the Human Corridor Defense Line.
Qu Yonghe explained, "An extremely powerful Genetic Beast appeared in the Andes in South America, a beast not only strong but also intelligent.
It united all the Genetic Beasts in the South American region to unleash a surge of beasts, almost exterminating the remaining humans in South America.
Now they want to cross over from Africa through the Great Dao. If we don’t stop them, humanity truly faces extinction..."
Qu Yi realized that the world had become so precarious during the months she spent in cultivation.
No wonder her parents were not too worried about her killing a member of the Genetic Alliance; human survival was indeed arduous.