Evolving infinitely from ground zero

In the days that followed, whenever she had the time, Shen Qinghan would arrive promptly at 8 p.m. at Yuan Dongzhi's office to study her Gene Slavery ability with her bargain mentor.

They focused on this research for nearly half a month.

During that time, Shen Qinghan's body showed no signs of abnormalities.

The genes of the Azure Jellyfish King within her were tightly controlled by her own DNA.

Any movement from the Azure Jellyfish King gene would be instantly crushed by her own.

The remaining genes of the Azure Jellyfish King behaved like obedient slaves.

Shen Qinghan needed only to think, and they would express or enter dormancy as she wished.

Genetic Integrators would cry with envy at the sight.

For Genetic Integrators, each fusion with an Exotic Beast Gene was followed by a period of instability.

During which, they needed constant injection of drugs to stabilize and prevent any anomalous transformations.

Whereas Shen Qinghan, who possessed the Gene Slavery ability, didn't have to worry about this at all, enjoying the ability to freeload off the genes of Exotic Beasts.

...

Administrative building.

Inside the principal's office.

The lights were blazing.

Yuan Dongzhi, clad in a light white cheongsam, sat crossing her legs on the office chair, her pose sensual yet elegant, emanating the aura of a noblewoman and appearing as an experienced charmer.

In contrast, sitting across from her in a light blue dress, Shen Qinghan seemed somewhat pure and restrained.

Sitting upright throughout, she resembled an elementary student occupying the front row in a classroom.

Shen Qinghan and Yuan Dongzhi, despite their mentor-apprentice relationship, weren't particularly close.

Most of their interactions bore the air of a "serious" and "reserved" elementary school teacher-student relationship.

"Come on, Qinghan, try using spiritual power as I just taught you to slowly move the water from the left cup to the right cup," Yuan Dongzhi said, her voice unusually gentle.

She was very much invested in her well-behaved little apprentice and wanted to deepen their bond and nurture her growth.

"Hmm, I'll give it a try," answered Shen Qinghan, in her soft voice.

Next, with a thought, she activated the gene of the Azure Jellyfish King within her, causing her hair to turn a vibrant, shiny blue.

Then, again with a thought, she clumsily spread out her spiritual power, gradually moving the water from the left cup to the right one.

Her spiritual power was weak and far from being strong enough to manipulate objects through the air.

Ordinarily, she wouldn't be able to move the water from one cup to another.

But with the properties of the Azure Jellyfish King gene enhancing her abilities, she did it effortlessly.

Moreover, she did it perfectly.

The water she drew was silky smooth, pouring completely into the other cup without spilling a single drop onto the table.

Yuan Dongzhi witnessed the whole process, deeply impressed.

She considered herself a genius among geniuses, but compared to Shen Qinghan, she seemed utterly common.

The silky water control Shen Qinghan displayed just now took her three months of hard practice to accomplish when she was younger.

Yet Shen Qinghan had succeeded in less than half a month.

The disparity was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Pleased with what she saw, Yuan Dongzhi didn't skimp on her praise, "Not bad, your water control ability is much stronger than mine was back then; indeed, the blue is outshining the indigo."

"You flatter me, Master," Shen Qinghan said modestly.

She felt a bit embarrassed by Yuan Dongzhi's compliments, her fingers playing with her smooth hair on her shoulders in shyness.

For Yuan Dongzhi, the more she watched her apprentice's bashful demeanor, the more endearing she found it.

She then continued, "The method of spiritual refinement I taught you last night, you must practice it diligently for an hour every night before going to bed."

"Strive to raise your currently faint spiritual power to the standard required to train in the Spirit Refinement Room in a month's time."

"Training in the Spirit Refinement Room will enhance your spiritual power rapidly. Once it is sufficiently high, you will be able to influence not just water from a distance but also the Qi-Blood within others' bodies."

"Do you understand what it means to be able to control others' Qi-Blood from a distance?"

"It means that in a confrontation, you could at the very least cause your opponent's Qi-Blood to flow chaotically or, at worst, make them explode and die from it. To kill an enemy would be but a thought away!"

Yuan Dongzhi said this last sentence with an emphasis that carried a surge of momentum.

To kill an enemy with just a thought...

Hearing Yuan Dongzhi's words, Shen Qinghan felt a bit unreal.

Just a few months ago, in the practical exam for the college entrance exam, she had to set up traps in advance to hunt a wild boar, wielding a sharpened bamboo stick and approached with caution, fearing to be overturned by the creature.

Yet now, just a few months later, she was at the point where she could kill with a mere thought?

She had improved so fast...

Shen Qinghan felt a wave of emotion within herself.

Unaware of her thoughts, Yuan Dongzhi quickly resumed speaking, "The skill to influence others' Qi-Blood remotely is something I mastered a year after integrating with the gene of the Azure Jellyfish King, but with a better talent than mine, you should aim to master it before the end of this term. Do you have confidence?"

"Yes, I have confidence," replied Shen Qinghan, nodding confidently without a hint of hesitation.

Surprised, but then reassured, Yuan Dongzhi smiled and said, "Good, a top-tier genius should have top-tier confidence; a genius without confidence will sooner or later fade into obscurity. A genius ought to be proud and competitive."