164 Enchanted Forest
Cong Xia regretfully remarked, "Such a powerful ability. It would be great if it were a human leading us."
Zhuang Yao shook his head, "That's impossible. During their convergence, the Devil Pine had already surpassed humans by a hundredfold in strength. Human consciousness cannot contend with it. The fact that the human's consciousness didn't disappear is already fortunate. Otherwise, we wouldn't have made it out of this forest unscathed, let alone have the chance to obtain the Puppet Jade."
Cong Xia nodded, "The result has been surprisingly good. I really didn't expect it to go so smoothly. Now, I just hope that the villa is still intact."
Zhuang Yao said, "Even if it's not, we'll build another one. Let's first go to Yunnan to take a look."
Cheng Tianbi asked, "Did you find anything from the Russian remnants?"
"Their storage devices are all encrypted with 24 layers of pre-apocalyptic cutting-edge technology. We currently don't have the means to decrypt them; we need to take them back to Beijing. However, one of them left a diary that gives us some information. Can you read Russian?"
Cheng Tianbi shook his head, "I've learned various combat languages from different countries, but Russian is only limited to combat keywords."
"That's fine. We are close to the Sino-Russian border, so there should be plenty of people who can speak Russian. This person had a habit of keeping a diary, and it started recording events two months after the apocalypse. Even if it doesn't contain any confidential information, it will still help us understand the real situation within Russia."
Cong Xia asked, "Should we return to Beijing now?"
"No, we've sent a flying mutant to bring back the storage devices to Beijing. They should arrive tonight. Once the confidential content is deciphered, we'll discuss the next step."
Cong Xia felt a bit disappointed. These days, he had been worried about his uncle's situation, always fearing that Xu Ying might make a move. Despite the current situation being highly advantageous for them, it also made Xu Ying more desperate. His second uncle was a cerebral domain evolver, but he lacked genuine offensive and defensive capabilities. There were still spies from Zone Six in Zone Three, and if they wanted to harm him, it wouldn't be too difficult. Thinking about this, Cong Xia couldn't help but be anxious.
Zhuang Yao glanced at him and said, "Worried about Professor Cong?"
Cong Xia nodded.
"Don't worry. Professor Cong's level of cerebral domain evolution is among the best in the Academy. His defense is formidable. If he releases his energy at full strength, he can immobilize a higher-level mutant for 3 to 5 seconds. He has people protecting him all the time, so there shouldn't be any problems."
Cong Xia replied solemnly, "I hope so... I just wish this matter on our side can be resolved quickly."
At this moment, Commander Zhang sent a soldier to inform them that they had found people who could speak Russian.
They all walked into a tent.
The couple that Commander Zhang brought was a long-time resident of the Sino-Russian border, engaged in small-scale border trade, and fluent in Russian. They were currently under Tang Tingzhi's supervision, translating the diary.
Tang Tingzhi said, "These two individuals are members of the Russian Federal Security Service. One is a regular human, and we don't know the identity of the other yet. The diary was written by this ordinary human."
Zhuang Yao picked up a page that had already been translated and began reading. This page contained descriptions of the author's surroundings, mentioning mutated colleagues, the death of his niece due to a minor finger injury, and the food they received today. There wasn't anything crucial, but it indicated that Russia, although quite far from Qinghai, had already succumbed to the effects of the Cambrian energy. At least two months after the earthquake, Russia had fallen.
Tang Tingzhi said, "This diary has 167 pages, and it will take two to three days to translate it completely. By that time, Beijing would probably have cracked their hard drives as well."
Zhuang Yao nodded, "Let's focus on our individual cultivation these days and not waste time."
Li Dao'ai suddenly spoke, "I've reached a critical point. Why not help me break through to the Second Order during this time?"
Cong Xia was surprised, "Here? Wouldn't it be safer to do it back in Beijing?"
"It doesn't make much of a difference. If something goes wrong, the lab won't be able to help me. I'll still need your assistance."
Cong Xia couldn't decide on his own and looked towards Cheng Tianbi and Zhuang Yao. Zhuang Yao nodded, "Get a good night's sleep today, and we'll start tomorrow. Officer Li, there's something I need to say upfront; we cannot guarantee your safety one hundred percent, nor can we guarantee that you will definitely break through to the Second Order. The most critical factor will still depend on you."
Li Dao'ai nodded, "I understand."
Huo Bai furrowed his brow, "Commander, why rush these few days? Let's go back to Beijing and then decide. There are no facilities here, and it's too unsafe."
"When Shen Changze broke through to the Second Order in Zone Six, the Academy only provided a room. What's the difference here?"
Zhao Zixiang also chimed in, "In this wilderness, if he gets injured, we won't even have two sterile environments for recovery. Commander, let's go back to Beijing and discuss it again."
Tang Tingzhi said, "If he gets injured, Cong Xia can heal him. Whether he can break through to the Second Order or not has nothing to do with the environment. I agree with Officer Li; let's do it tomorrow. Every day we delay, the destructive Cambrian energy in his body increases."
Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang both showed deep concern on their faces.
Li Dao'ai remained composed, "If Yao Qianjiang were here, he would make the same decision."
Shen Changze smirked, "Of course, he's much more impatient than you."
Li Dao'ai chuckled, "That's normal. He has never been willing to be inferior to others."
Based on their previous experience, Li Dao'ai's breakthrough to the Second Order would also take at least a whole day. So after a hasty meal, everyone went back to their tents to rest.
Cheng Tianbi and his team were arranged in one tent, and that night, everyone had trouble sleeping. Deng Xiao sighed, "The food has worsened a lot since Devil Pine left. Today, we didn't even have a single vegetable."
Zhuang Yao said, "Then you can stay in the forest with him and have the people around you offer you delicacies every day."
"Well, don't laugh, but Devil Pine does seem a bit like the local guardian spirit. Every year, they offer tributes of food and beautiful women and all that. Hahaha."
Cong Xia laughed, "What does that have to do with you?"
Deng Xiao was taken aback, "Uh, indeed, it has nothing to do with me."
Zhuang Yao asked, "Cong Xia, how much longer until you break through to the Second Order?"
"Soon, within a month, I think."
"You and Cheng Tianbi started cultivating at the same time, but you're almost half a year behind him in breaking through to the Second Order. You need to catch up."
"Yeah, I'm making time for daily practice now. I'll work hard to catch up. How about you?"
"I'll probably need another two or three months," Zhuang Yao sighed, "I'm really short of time."
Indeed, Zhuang Yao was the busiest among all of them. As the "brain" of their team, he not only had to design training programs, develop weapons, and constantly monitor everyone's strength growth, but he also had many research projects in the Academy to attend to. He was responsible for both their power improvement and the advancement of humanity in the post-apocalyptic era. Even with only five hours of sleep per day, he still felt the time was insufficient. When they went out on missions, he could feel a little more relaxed.
Cong Xia said, "You really shouldn't exhaust yourself like this. You and my second uncle, both of you, no matter how much you evolve, you're still human, not machines. Human energy is limited."
Zhuang Yao softly replied, "Hmm." His voice had not fully changed yet, somewhere between a child and a teenager, and it sounded sweet and pleasant. This gentle response made people momentarily forget that he was a powerful cerebral domain evolver and thought of him as an ordinary 12-year-old boy.
Cheng Tianbi asked, "Xiao Deng, what about you? How much longer do you need?"
"I feel like... it might also take me two or three more months."
Zhuang Yao said, "Do you currently spend four hours per day on cultivation?"
"Yes."
"I will reduce your training in elemental manipulation and atavism training, and you can use an additional two hours each day to work on breaking through to the Second Order."
Deng Xiao happily agreed, "No problem." Compared to the exhausting or poisoning training they went through, sitting there to absorb Cambrian energy, though a bit boring, was much easier.
Cong Xia asked, "Tianbi, at what stage are you in your cultivation now?"
"I'm about 30% into the Second Order. At this rate, it will still take a year to break through to the Third Order."
"When you reach the critical point of the Third Order, you should be able to fully elementalize your body." Cong Xia's tone carried a hint of excitement.
"Probably."
Zhuang Yao said, "That's good timing. Our expedition to Qinghai won't take shape quickly. We still have very limited information about Qinghai, and it's too dangerous to venture in at this point. Investigating and researching will take at least three to five months. Before that, we probably won't accept any tasks with a difficulty rating above 'A.' Instead, we'll focus on improving our abilities and gathering information. Before we go to Qinghai, Cheng Tianbi should at least reach two-thirds of his body being able to elementalize, and all of us should break through to the Second Order."
Cong Xia expressed some worry, "What about Abu?"
Zhuang Yao's tone turned serious. "Abu is the most difficult one. I'm currently trying to control its cultivation with my brain waves. In other words, I'm helping it cultivate because it can't do it on its own. However, this is not a long-term solution. Right now, Abu has the lowest energy among us because it doesn't cultivate, and its progress is slow. Since we hardly interact with the Puppet Jade except during missions, relying solely on the ambient Cambrian energy in the air, most species evolve at a slower pace. So, I estimate that it will take at least two more years for Abu to break through to the Second Order. If it ever reaches that point, we can only rely on the energy in your body to cleanse its energy."
Cong Xia said, "I hope this method works."
Zhuang Yao replied calmly, "There's another possibility."
"What is it?"
"It depends on what changes occur after I break through to the Second Order. Perhaps we can work together to transform Abu's cerebral domain, artificially pushing its evolution."
"Artificial evolution?" Cong Xia sat up in surprise, and the others also listened attentively.
"That's right, it is possible. You can instantly strengthen parts of your body or even your cerebral domain, and you can also strengthen others. However, this kind of enhancement is temporary. But if we combine my cerebral domain abilities, we might be able to make this enhancement permanent. We can artificially transform Abu's cerebral domain, giving it stronger thinking, mimicry, learning, and communication abilities. It already possesses these four abilities, but they are still quite rudimentary. I hope that after both of us break through to the Second Order, we can conduct a cerebral domain transformation on Abu to stimulate its evolution."
Cong Xia was stunned, "But... how do we do it? Like how I repair wounds, by promoting the evolution of Abu's cerebral domain cells?"
"No, you can't do that. The brain is the most sophisticated, complex, and perfect machine in the world. You can repair external injuries to the brain, but you definitely cannot modify the intricate neural system. Do you know which nerve controls limbs or which one controls the senses? Without that knowledge, you wouldn't even know where to start. Even I don't have full confidence in that. So, the method I envision is not me directly manipulating Abu's brain but me manipulating your brain, and with my knowledge combined with your abilities, we conduct a non-surgical 'intracranial operation' on Abu."
Cong Xia was speechless for a moment.
Cheng Tianbi furrowed his brow. "This kind of 'operation' carries too much risk."
"Exactly, it is very risky for both me, Cong Xia, and Abu, especially Abu. If it fails, it's very likely to end up with complete brainwave inactivity, or what is commonly referred to as cerebral palsy. However, even if it turns into cerebral palsy, it's better than dying explosively. Regardless, I will take care of it."
Deng Xiao took a deep breath, "Let's think of something better. If it succeeds?"
"If it succeeds, Abu will become a cerebral domain evolved cat. Its current level of intelligence is probably that of a 5-6-year-old child. After the evolution, it should have the intelligence of an ordinary teenager, and there's a possibility it could evolve an even more advanced language system. Then, through training, we might be able to make it speak human language."
Cong Xia asked seriously, "What's the probability of success for this idea?"
Zhuang Yao shook his head. "Not high, and even if both of us break through to the Second Order, we might not be able to do it. It might require reaching the Third Order. I feel like even if I break through to the Second Order, I won't be able to fully control an adult's brain, at least not for an extended period, and I don't know what consequences might arise if I invade your brain. Thankfully, Abu won't reach the critical point of the Second Order anytime soon, so we still have time. In any case, I have high hopes for this method. I'd prefer Abu to evolve along with us, otherwise, it won't be able to join us in missions and would get depressed if we always leave it at home."
Deng Xiao added, "Yes, we often don't have time to see it during training, and it gets bored every day."
"The two methods I mentioned earlier are either using Cong Xia's energy to cleanse Abu's destructive Cambrian energy inside its body or conducting a cerebral domain evolution transformation on it, letting it cultivate on its own. After considering multiple approaches, these are the two most likely ones to achieve. Before executing them, I'll find some experimental subjects to simulate the process. Both methods carry significant risks, but the second one offers higher rewards. No matter how we decide to help Abu, we need to become stronger ourselves first."
Cong Xia said, "Zhuang Yao, you said you are looking forward to the changes in me after I reach the Second Order. I'm also looking forward to the changes in you after you break through to the Second Order. Even if it's for Abu's sake, we need to dedicate more time to our training."
Zhuang Yao responded with a calm "Hmm," though there was a subtle undertone of worry in his voice, not easily noticeable.
With a hint of concern, everyone slowly fell asleep.
The next morning, after breakfast, everyone gathered in front of a tent to prepare for Li Dao'ai's breakthrough to the Second Order.
Commander Zhang and Tang Tingzhi formed a makeshift medical team. Although Cong Xia had the ability to heal injuries, he exhausted himself helping Shen Changze break through to the Second Order previously. He couldn't rely solely on him, especially if anything went wrong. They needed a way to save Li Dao'ai's life until Cong Xia could recover his energy.
Compared to Li Dao'ai's composure, both Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang appeared very nervous, with dark circles under their eyes, indicating they hadn't slept well all night.
After the preparations were completed, Li Dao'ai, Cheng Tianbi, and Cong Xia entered the tent together, with Cheng Tianbi guiding Li Dao'ai while Cong Xia waited beside them.
Commander Zhang had the tent surrounded, and strict orders were given not to make any noise. The entire camp was heavily guarded, preventing anything from approaching. However, since the Devil Pine had stayed in their tent for two nights before, nothing came to disturb them. The tent that Li Dao'ai used for his breakthrough was the same one where the Devil Pine had stayed two nights ago. Although they couldn't smell it, the mutant animals and plants nearby could likely sense it.
Those who had experienced it before knew that breaking through to the Second Order would be a very long process, at least requiring one day and one night. The most crucial part would be the last two or three hours. Therefore, except for Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang, everyone else went about their own business.
Inside the tent, Cheng Tianbi asked, "You've memorized the flow of energy in your meridians and the method to purify the energy in the energy core, right?"
Li Dao'ai replied, "I've memorized them."
"No matter how tired or obstructed you feel, stay focused. If you fail once, keep trying. Once you start, absolutely do not give up midway. Are you prepared for this?"
Li Dao'ai replied calmly, "No problem."
"I'll closely observe your expressions. I've experienced everything you'll go through. When it's crucial, I'll remind you, but don't get distracted because of that."
"Okay."
"Then let's begin." Cheng Tianbi sat down next to Cong Xia.
Li Dao'ai found a comfortable position and sat back on the mattress, focusing his energy and sensing it within himself.
Seeing this, Cheng Tianbi and Cong Xia exchanged glances. They couldn't talk to each other to avoid disturbing Li Dao'ai, so they communicated through eye contact. Both of them felt confident, especially after Shen Changze's experience. They saw that confidence in each other's eyes.
Time passed, and more than ten hours had gone by since they started. Li Dao'ai showed no visible changes during this time, but Cong Xia could feel how his energy flowed within his body. As an observer, there were moments when he knew that a different approach could make the circulation successful, but he couldn't help Li Dao'ai. He had to spend several hours experimenting and facing different issues each time. Cong Xia couldn't even summarize the experiences for future reference since every situation was unique.
Both of them sensed that the energy within Li Dao'ai's body was continuously strengthening. So far, everything had been going smoothly. Li Dao'ai's state seemed more stable than Shen Changze's during his Second Order breakthrough. It could be related to their energy attributes. Shen Changze had a lot of fire energy in his body, which might have influenced his temperament. On the other hand, Li Dao'ai remained as calm and steady as the earth beneath their feet.
The time quickly reached the 18th hour, and Li Dao'ai had entered a crucial moment. His energy core was evolving from a First Order storage core to a Second Order fusion core. Now, he had to push all the circulating energy into the fusion core. Success would lead to a smooth breakthrough to the Second Order, but failure would result in an explosion.
At this critical juncture, the confrontation between Li Dao'ai's destructive and safe cambrian energy officially began. Cong Xia carefully sensed the proportion of the two cambrian energies inside Li Dao'ai's body, which was slightly better than Shen Changze's, roughly 7:3. However, even without his assistance, Li Dao'ai could still fail. It wasn't time for him to act yet. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to endure several hours of confrontation. He needed to provide assistance to Li Dao'ai at the critical moment when the energy was pushed into the energy core.
Li Dao'ai's face was now flushed, and large drops of sweat dripped from his face and body. Cheng Tianbi guided him with his own experience, urging him to stay fully focused.
Time ticked on, and Li Dao'ai's struggle to push the energy into the fusion core continued. The tension in the tent was palpable, and everyone outside remained silent, waiting anxiously for any signs of success. Cong Xia knew he had to time his assistance perfectly. It was a momentous task, and everyone's hopes were riding on this breakthrough.
After 26 hours, when everyone was exhausted, Li Dao'ai's physical strength had almost reached its limit. Suddenly, a surge of energy erupted within him, emanating a powerful earth attribute that exerted pressure on those around him. His energy core was evolving!
Consequently, Cong Xia swiftly leaped to his side. This time, he couldn't wait until Li Dao'ai couldn't hold on any longer. In the previous attempt, lacking experience, Shen Changze had come perilously close to failure. Instantly, Cong Xia infused energy into Li Dao'ai's body and whispered, "Officer Li, hold on now and push the energy into your energy core with me."
Li Dao'ai remained silent. His internal energy was in a chaotic state, with the destructive cold energy threatening to burst through his body. A single misstep could result in him being blown to pieces. Like Shen Changze before him, he endured excruciating pain, and the urgency of life and death relentlessly tormented his physical strength and willpower.
Cong Xia gritted his teeth, using his own energy to support Li Dao'ai's evolution. Fortunately, the amount of destructive cambrian energy in Li Dao'ai's body was slightly less than in Shen Changze's case, around 5% to 10% less. However, even this difference constituted a significant disparity in energy. Therefore, Cong Xia didn't deplete his energy entirely, ensuring he assisted Li Dao'ai in successfully pushing the energy into his energy core.
As the energy entered the core, everything instantly quieted down. The immense earth energy disappeared in a flash, and Li Dao'ai fell unconscious due to sheer exhaustion.
Cong Xia plopped down on a mattress, gasping for breath.
Cheng Tianbi supported him by the shoulders, patting his face reassuringly. "Well done."
Zhuang Yao was the first to rush in, relieved at the sight before him.
Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang also ran in, seeing Li Dao'ai breathing steadily as if granted a reprieve. They were so grateful that they almost kneeled down in front of Cong Xia.
The Dragonblood team was the third group to enter. Tang Tingzhi sighed, "He went through much less suffering than you did."
Shen Changze shrugged, "Someone has to be the first to try."
Translator's note: Thanks for the support, Crazy mama! I'll be adding the bonus chapters tomorrow as I can't tonight. Thanks again!
164 Enchanted Forest
Cong Xia regretfully remarked, "Such a powerful ability. It would be great if it were a human leading us."
Zhuang Yao shook his head, "That's impossible. During their convergence, the Devil Pine had already surpassed humans by a hundredfold in strength. Human consciousness cannot contend with it. The fact that the human's consciousness didn't disappear is already fortunate. Otherwise, we wouldn't have made it out of this forest unscathed, let alone have the chance to obtain the Puppet Jade."
Cong Xia nodded, "The result has been surprisingly good. I really didn't expect it to go so smoothly. Now, I just hope that the villa is still intact."
Zhuang Yao said, "Even if it's not, we'll build another one. Let's first go to Yunnan to take a look."
Cheng Tianbi asked, "Did you find anything from the Russian remnants?"
"Their storage devices are all encrypted with 24 layers of pre-apocalyptic cutting-edge technology. We currently don't have the means to decrypt them; we need to take them back to Beijing. However, one of them left a diary that gives us some information. Can you read Russian?"
Cheng Tianbi shook his head, "I've learned various combat languages from different countries, but Russian is only limited to combat keywords."
"That's fine. We are close to the Sino-Russian border, so there should be plenty of people who can speak Russian. This person had a habit of keeping a diary, and it started recording events two months after the apocalypse. Even if it doesn't contain any confidential information, it will still help us understand the real situation within Russia."
Cong Xia asked, "Should we return to Beijing now?"
"No, we've sent a flying mutant to bring back the storage devices to Beijing. They should arrive tonight. Once the confidential content is deciphered, we'll discuss the next step."
Cong Xia felt a bit disappointed. These days, he had been worried about his uncle's situation, always fearing that Xu Ying might make a move. Despite the current situation being highly advantageous for them, it also made Xu Ying more desperate. His second uncle was a cerebral domain evolver, but he lacked genuine offensive and defensive capabilities. There were still spies from Zone Six in Zone Three, and if they wanted to harm him, it wouldn't be too difficult. Thinking about this, Cong Xia couldn't help but be anxious.
Zhuang Yao glanced at him and said, "Worried about Professor Cong?"
Cong Xia nodded.
"Don't worry. Professor Cong's level of cerebral domain evolution is among the best in the Academy. His defense is formidable. If he releases his energy at full strength, he can immobilize a higher-level mutant for 3 to 5 seconds. He has people protecting him all the time, so there shouldn't be any problems."
Cong Xia replied solemnly, "I hope so... I just wish this matter on our side can be resolved quickly."
At this moment, Commander Zhang sent a soldier to inform them that they had found people who could speak Russian.
They all walked into a tent.
The couple that Commander Zhang brought was a long-time resident of the Sino-Russian border, engaged in small-scale border trade, and fluent in Russian. They were currently under Tang Tingzhi's supervision, translating the diary.
Tang Tingzhi said, "These two individuals are members of the Russian Federal Security Service. One is a regular human, and we don't know the identity of the other yet. The diary was written by this ordinary human."
Zhuang Yao picked up a page that had already been translated and began reading. This page contained descriptions of the author's surroundings, mentioning mutated colleagues, the death of his niece due to a minor finger injury, and the food they received today. There wasn't anything crucial, but it indicated that Russia, although quite far from Qinghai, had already succumbed to the effects of the Cambrian energy. At least two months after the earthquake, Russia had fallen.
Tang Tingzhi said, "This diary has 167 pages, and it will take two to three days to translate it completely. By that time, Beijing would probably have cracked their hard drives as well."
Zhuang Yao nodded, "Let's focus on our individual cultivation these days and not waste time."
Li Dao'ai suddenly spoke, "I've reached a critical point. Why not help me break through to the Second Order during this time?"
Cong Xia was surprised, "Here? Wouldn't it be safer to do it back in Beijing?"
"It doesn't make much of a difference. If something goes wrong, the lab won't be able to help me. I'll still need your assistance."
Cong Xia couldn't decide on his own and looked towards Cheng Tianbi and Zhuang Yao. Zhuang Yao nodded, "Get a good night's sleep today, and we'll start tomorrow. Officer Li, there's something I need to say upfront; we cannot guarantee your safety one hundred percent, nor can we guarantee that you will definitely break through to the Second Order. The most critical factor will still depend on you."
Li Dao'ai nodded, "I understand."
Huo Bai furrowed his brow, "Commander, why rush these few days? Let's go back to Beijing and then decide. There are no facilities here, and it's too unsafe."
"When Shen Changze broke through to the Second Order in Zone Six, the Academy only provided a room. What's the difference here?"
Zhao Zixiang also chimed in, "In this wilderness, if he gets injured, we won't even have two sterile environments for recovery. Commander, let's go back to Beijing and discuss it again."
Tang Tingzhi said, "If he gets injured, Cong Xia can heal him. Whether he can break through to the Second Order or not has nothing to do with the environment. I agree with Officer Li; let's do it tomorrow. Every day we delay, the destructive Cambrian energy in his body increases."
Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang both showed deep concern on their faces.
Li Dao'ai remained composed, "If Yao Qianjiang were here, he would make the same decision."
Shen Changze smirked, "Of course, he's much more impatient than you."
Li Dao'ai chuckled, "That's normal. He has never been willing to be inferior to others."
Based on their previous experience, Li Dao'ai's breakthrough to the Second Order would also take at least a whole day. So after a hasty meal, everyone went back to their tents to rest.
Cheng Tianbi and his team were arranged in one tent, and that night, everyone had trouble sleeping. Deng Xiao sighed, "The food has worsened a lot since Devil Pine left. Today, we didn't even have a single vegetable."
Zhuang Yao said, "Then you can stay in the forest with him and have the people around you offer you delicacies every day."
"Well, don't laugh, but Devil Pine does seem a bit like the local guardian spirit. Every year, they offer tributes of food and beautiful women and all that. Hahaha."
Cong Xia laughed, "What does that have to do with you?"
Deng Xiao was taken aback, "Uh, indeed, it has nothing to do with me."
Zhuang Yao asked, "Cong Xia, how much longer until you break through to the Second Order?"
"Soon, within a month, I think."
"You and Cheng Tianbi started cultivating at the same time, but you're almost half a year behind him in breaking through to the Second Order. You need to catch up."
"Yeah, I'm making time for daily practice now. I'll work hard to catch up. How about you?"
"I'll probably need another two or three months," Zhuang Yao sighed, "I'm really short of time."
Indeed, Zhuang Yao was the busiest among all of them. As the "brain" of their team, he not only had to design training programs, develop weapons, and constantly monitor everyone's strength growth, but he also had many research projects in the Academy to attend to. He was responsible for both their power improvement and the advancement of humanity in the post-apocalyptic era. Even with only five hours of sleep per day, he still felt the time was insufficient. When they went out on missions, he could feel a little more relaxed.
Cong Xia said, "You really shouldn't exhaust yourself like this. You and my second uncle, both of you, no matter how much you evolve, you're still human, not machines. Human energy is limited."
Zhuang Yao softly replied, "Hmm." His voice had not fully changed yet, somewhere between a child and a teenager, and it sounded sweet and pleasant. This gentle response made people momentarily forget that he was a powerful cerebral domain evolver and thought of him as an ordinary 12-year-old boy.
Cheng Tianbi asked, "Xiao Deng, what about you? How much longer do you need?"
"I feel like... it might also take me two or three more months."
Zhuang Yao said, "Do you currently spend four hours per day on cultivation?"
"Yes."
"I will reduce your training in elemental manipulation and atavism training, and you can use an additional two hours each day to work on breaking through to the Second Order."
Deng Xiao happily agreed, "No problem." Compared to the exhausting or poisoning training they went through, sitting there to absorb Cambrian energy, though a bit boring, was much easier.
Cong Xia asked, "Tianbi, at what stage are you in your cultivation now?"
"I'm about 30% into the Second Order. At this rate, it will still take a year to break through to the Third Order."
"When you reach the critical point of the Third Order, you should be able to fully elementalize your body." Cong Xia's tone carried a hint of excitement.
"Probably."
Zhuang Yao said, "That's good timing. Our expedition to Qinghai won't take shape quickly. We still have very limited information about Qinghai, and it's too dangerous to venture in at this point. Investigating and researching will take at least three to five months. Before that, we probably won't accept any tasks with a difficulty rating above 'A.' Instead, we'll focus on improving our abilities and gathering information. Before we go to Qinghai, Cheng Tianbi should at least reach two-thirds of his body being able to elementalize, and all of us should break through to the Second Order."
Cong Xia expressed some worry, "What about Abu?"
Zhuang Yao's tone turned serious. "Abu is the most difficult one. I'm currently trying to control its cultivation with my brain waves. In other words, I'm helping it cultivate because it can't do it on its own. However, this is not a long-term solution. Right now, Abu has the lowest energy among us because it doesn't cultivate, and its progress is slow. Since we hardly interact with the Puppet Jade except during missions, relying solely on the ambient Cambrian energy in the air, most species evolve at a slower pace. So, I estimate that it will take at least two more years for Abu to break through to the Second Order. If it ever reaches that point, we can only rely on the energy in your body to cleanse its energy."
Cong Xia said, "I hope this method works."
Zhuang Yao replied calmly, "There's another possibility."
"What is it?"
"It depends on what changes occur after I break through to the Second Order. Perhaps we can work together to transform Abu's cerebral domain, artificially pushing its evolution."
"Artificial evolution?" Cong Xia sat up in surprise, and the others also listened attentively.
"That's right, it is possible. You can instantly strengthen parts of your body or even your cerebral domain, and you can also strengthen others. However, this kind of enhancement is temporary. But if we combine my cerebral domain abilities, we might be able to make this enhancement permanent. We can artificially transform Abu's cerebral domain, giving it stronger thinking, mimicry, learning, and communication abilities. It already possesses these four abilities, but they are still quite rudimentary. I hope that after both of us break through to the Second Order, we can conduct a cerebral domain transformation on Abu to stimulate its evolution."
Cong Xia was stunned, "But... how do we do it? Like how I repair wounds, by promoting the evolution of Abu's cerebral domain cells?"
"No, you can't do that. The brain is the most sophisticated, complex, and perfect machine in the world. You can repair external injuries to the brain, but you definitely cannot modify the intricate neural system. Do you know which nerve controls limbs or which one controls the senses? Without that knowledge, you wouldn't even know where to start. Even I don't have full confidence in that. So, the method I envision is not me directly manipulating Abu's brain but me manipulating your brain, and with my knowledge combined with your abilities, we conduct a non-surgical 'intracranial operation' on Abu."
Cong Xia was speechless for a moment.
Cheng Tianbi furrowed his brow. "This kind of 'operation' carries too much risk."
"Exactly, it is very risky for both me, Cong Xia, and Abu, especially Abu. If it fails, it's very likely to end up with complete brainwave inactivity, or what is commonly referred to as cerebral palsy. However, even if it turns into cerebral palsy, it's better than dying explosively. Regardless, I will take care of it."
Deng Xiao took a deep breath, "Let's think of something better. If it succeeds?"
"If it succeeds, Abu will become a cerebral domain evolved cat. Its current level of intelligence is probably that of a 5-6-year-old child. After the evolution, it should have the intelligence of an ordinary teenager, and there's a possibility it could evolve an even more advanced language system. Then, through training, we might be able to make it speak human language."
Cong Xia asked seriously, "What's the probability of success for this idea?"
Zhuang Yao shook his head. "Not high, and even if both of us break through to the Second Order, we might not be able to do it. It might require reaching the Third Order. I feel like even if I break through to the Second Order, I won't be able to fully control an adult's brain, at least not for an extended period, and I don't know what consequences might arise if I invade your brain. Thankfully, Abu won't reach the critical point of the Second Order anytime soon, so we still have time. In any case, I have high hopes for this method. I'd prefer Abu to evolve along with us, otherwise, it won't be able to join us in missions and would get depressed if we always leave it at home."
Deng Xiao added, "Yes, we often don't have time to see it during training, and it gets bored every day."
"The two methods I mentioned earlier are either using Cong Xia's energy to cleanse Abu's destructive Cambrian energy inside its body or conducting a cerebral domain evolution transformation on it, letting it cultivate on its own. After considering multiple approaches, these are the two most likely ones to achieve. Before executing them, I'll find some experimental subjects to simulate the process. Both methods carry significant risks, but the second one offers higher rewards. No matter how we decide to help Abu, we need to become stronger ourselves first."
Cong Xia said, "Zhuang Yao, you said you are looking forward to the changes in me after I reach the Second Order. I'm also looking forward to the changes in you after you break through to the Second Order. Even if it's for Abu's sake, we need to dedicate more time to our training."
Zhuang Yao responded with a calm "Hmm," though there was a subtle undertone of worry in his voice, not easily noticeable.
With a hint of concern, everyone slowly fell asleep.
The next morning, after breakfast, everyone gathered in front of a tent to prepare for Li Dao'ai's breakthrough to the Second Order.
Commander Zhang and Tang Tingzhi formed a makeshift medical team. Although Cong Xia had the ability to heal injuries, he exhausted himself helping Shen Changze break through to the Second Order previously. He couldn't rely solely on him, especially if anything went wrong. They needed a way to save Li Dao'ai's life until Cong Xia could recover his energy.
Compared to Li Dao'ai's composure, both Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang appeared very nervous, with dark circles under their eyes, indicating they hadn't slept well all night.
After the preparations were completed, Li Dao'ai, Cheng Tianbi, and Cong Xia entered the tent together, with Cheng Tianbi guiding Li Dao'ai while Cong Xia waited beside them.
Commander Zhang had the tent surrounded, and strict orders were given not to make any noise. The entire camp was heavily guarded, preventing anything from approaching. However, since the Devil Pine had stayed in their tent for two nights before, nothing came to disturb them. The tent that Li Dao'ai used for his breakthrough was the same one where the Devil Pine had stayed two nights ago. Although they couldn't smell it, the mutant animals and plants nearby could likely sense it.
Those who had experienced it before knew that breaking through to the Second Order would be a very long process, at least requiring one day and one night. The most crucial part would be the last two or three hours. Therefore, except for Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang, everyone else went about their own business.
Inside the tent, Cheng Tianbi asked, "You've memorized the flow of energy in your meridians and the method to purify the energy in the energy core, right?"
Li Dao'ai replied, "I've memorized them."
"No matter how tired or obstructed you feel, stay focused. If you fail once, keep trying. Once you start, absolutely do not give up midway. Are you prepared for this?"
Li Dao'ai replied calmly, "No problem."
"I'll closely observe your expressions. I've experienced everything you'll go through. When it's crucial, I'll remind you, but don't get distracted because of that."
"Okay."
"Then let's begin." Cheng Tianbi sat down next to Cong Xia.
Li Dao'ai found a comfortable position and sat back on the mattress, focusing his energy and sensing it within himself.
Seeing this, Cheng Tianbi and Cong Xia exchanged glances. They couldn't talk to each other to avoid disturbing Li Dao'ai, so they communicated through eye contact. Both of them felt confident, especially after Shen Changze's experience. They saw that confidence in each other's eyes.
Time passed, and more than ten hours had gone by since they started. Li Dao'ai showed no visible changes during this time, but Cong Xia could feel how his energy flowed within his body. As an observer, there were moments when he knew that a different approach could make the circulation successful, but he couldn't help Li Dao'ai. He had to spend several hours experimenting and facing different issues each time. Cong Xia couldn't even summarize the experiences for future reference since every situation was unique.
Both of them sensed that the energy within Li Dao'ai's body was continuously strengthening. So far, everything had been going smoothly. Li Dao'ai's state seemed more stable than Shen Changze's during his Second Order breakthrough. It could be related to their energy attributes. Shen Changze had a lot of fire energy in his body, which might have influenced his temperament. On the other hand, Li Dao'ai remained as calm and steady as the earth beneath their feet.
The time quickly reached the 18th hour, and Li Dao'ai had entered a crucial moment. His energy core was evolving from a First Order storage core to a Second Order fusion core. Now, he had to push all the circulating energy into the fusion core. Success would lead to a smooth breakthrough to the Second Order, but failure would result in an explosion.
At this critical juncture, the confrontation between Li Dao'ai's destructive and safe cambrian energy officially began. Cong Xia carefully sensed the proportion of the two cambrian energies inside Li Dao'ai's body, which was slightly better than Shen Changze's, roughly 7:3. However, even without his assistance, Li Dao'ai could still fail. It wasn't time for him to act yet. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to endure several hours of confrontation. He needed to provide assistance to Li Dao'ai at the critical moment when the energy was pushed into the energy core.
Li Dao'ai's face was now flushed, and large drops of sweat dripped from his face and body. Cheng Tianbi guided him with his own experience, urging him to stay fully focused.
Time ticked on, and Li Dao'ai's struggle to push the energy into the fusion core continued. The tension in the tent was palpable, and everyone outside remained silent, waiting anxiously for any signs of success. Cong Xia knew he had to time his assistance perfectly. It was a momentous task, and everyone's hopes were riding on this breakthrough.
After 26 hours, when everyone was exhausted, Li Dao'ai's physical strength had almost reached its limit. Suddenly, a surge of energy erupted within him, emanating a powerful earth attribute that exerted pressure on those around him. His energy core was evolving!
Consequently, Cong Xia swiftly leaped to his side. This time, he couldn't wait until Li Dao'ai couldn't hold on any longer. In the previous attempt, lacking experience, Shen Changze had come perilously close to failure. Instantly, Cong Xia infused energy into Li Dao'ai's body and whispered, "Officer Li, hold on now and push the energy into your energy core with me."
Li Dao'ai remained silent. His internal energy was in a chaotic state, with the destructive cold energy threatening to burst through his body. A single misstep could result in him being blown to pieces. Like Shen Changze before him, he endured excruciating pain, and the urgency of life and death relentlessly tormented his physical strength and willpower.
Cong Xia gritted his teeth, using his own energy to support Li Dao'ai's evolution. Fortunately, the amount of destructive cambrian energy in Li Dao'ai's body was slightly less than in Shen Changze's case, around 5% to 10% less. However, even this difference constituted a significant disparity in energy. Therefore, Cong Xia didn't deplete his energy entirely, ensuring he assisted Li Dao'ai in successfully pushing the energy into his energy core.
As the energy entered the core, everything instantly quieted down. The immense earth energy disappeared in a flash, and Li Dao'ai fell unconscious due to sheer exhaustion.
Cong Xia plopped down on a mattress, gasping for breath.
Cheng Tianbi supported him by the shoulders, patting his face reassuringly. "Well done."
Zhuang Yao was the first to rush in, relieved at the sight before him.
Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang also ran in, seeing Li Dao'ai breathing steadily as if granted a reprieve. They were so grateful that they almost kneeled down in front of Cong Xia.
The Dragonblood team was the third group to enter. Tang Tingzhi sighed, "He went through much less suffering than you did."
Shen Changze shrugged, "Someone has to be the first to try."
Translator's note: Thanks for the support, Crazy mama! I'll be adding the bonus chapters tomorrow as I can't tonight. Thanks again!
