Elite-Rank Gene Armament and Transcendent Gene

Lu Yuan didn't examine his two prizes right away.

He rested briefly, then continued along the gobi plateau in search of a windbreak — somewhere sheltered enough to sit down and properly go through his loot.

Far below, the aftermath of his work was already underway.

As the fire subsided, the sand and grit churned into the air slowly settled back to the ground. The flames dwindled and died.

With a screech of fury, the two Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetles plunged through the dying fire wall. Their stone armor was scorched and blackened, but their momentum hadn't faltered in the slightest. They bolted back to the wooden chest —

And found it open. Empty. Everything inside had vanished.

*You filthy thieves!!*

They charged back out and began tearing through the surrounding area, hunting frantically for whoever had taken their treasure.

They found nothing. Lu Yuan had erased every trace — scent included.

Meanwhile, at a different location within the Gray Rock Forest, four Human Race Gene Warriors were taking a rest. About a dozen Gray Rock Beetle corpses lay scattered around them.

A powerfully built man in black metal armor sat leaning on a great sword propped beside him. Three other men rested nearby.

Suddenly, the tallest and thinnest of the group straightened up and called out:

"Hey — look over there!"

Following his pointing finger, the group turned and saw a column of fire blazing into the sky.

Every one of them snapped alert, eyes wide with surprise and confusion.

"What is that? Did some kind of treasure show up out there?"

"Could be a rare fierce beast making its appearance!"

"Boss, what do you think?"

The big man stared at the distant flames, his gaze sharpening as he turned it over. His eyes narrowed.

"We're going to take a look. But stay sharp — we're probably not the only ones in this area. A commotion that size will draw others. Keep your heads on and don't let anyone catch you off guard."

The other three grinned.

"Relax, boss! We've been in the Land of Origin long enough to know how this works!"

He pushed himself to his feet, sword in hand. The others rose as well, excitement glinting in their eyes.

The four of them set off toward the fire.

They weren't the only ones drawn to it.

As they approached, three elves emerged from one of the passages ahead: two male, one female. Before anyone from either group could speak, three gnolls appeared from a separate passage. The largest stood well over two meters tall, covered head to foot in black fur, a wide predatory grin spreading across his face.

Three groups. Three sets of wary eyes sizing up the others.

A male elf carrying a longbow stepped forward, his tone measured and even.

"I think we all came here for the same reason. None of us know what's at that fire yet. Why don't we investigate together first, then decide from there?"

The human and gnoll groups each exchanged quick looks among themselves.

The Human Race strongman's expression remained cool. "Works for us."

The towering black-furred gnoll let out a low chuckle. "Heh. No objections here."

Maintaining careful distances from one another, the three groups advanced together.

They hadn't gone far when they rounded a passage — and froze.

Two black shapes came hurtling out of the darkness ahead.

"Watch out!"

The two Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetles spotted all three groups in an instant. Their eyes went bloodshot.

White light blazed across their bodies.

*Combat Technique — Petrified Skin.*

Stone armor encased their carapaces with a grinding crack. Screaming, they hurled themselves forward.

*You're definitely the ones who took our treasure — you filthy thieves, you're DEAD!!*

Archers from all three groups drew and loosed simultaneously. Their arrows struck the stone armor and simply bounced off, leaving nothing but pale scuffs.

"Damn!! That defense is something else! Hold the line! Don't let them reach the backline!"

"These two Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetles have completely lost their minds!"

An elf woman — who had already encoded her gene — raised her hand. A fireball the size of a human head blazed to life and streaked toward one of the beetles.

*BOOM!!*

Everything erupted into chaos.

"Combat techniques right out of the gate?! What in the hell is wrong with these two?!"

Three groups: *???*

They stared at the beetles' frenzied rampage, utterly at a loss.

The two Black-stripe Gray Rock Beetles would never find Lu Yuan, of course. He hadn't left so much as a footprint.

And at this very moment, the true culprit — a strikingly handsome young man, one clearly destined to become a pillar of the Human Race — had long since found a sheltered spot up on the gobi plateau. He was humming quietly to himself, getting down to the very pleasant business of examining his haul.

He started with the pale green orb.

There was a great sword inside.

He closed his fist around the orb and squeezed. It shattered. The sword dropped to the ground.

The blade was jet black, roughly a meter and a half in length. Two sections along the blade were noticeably thicker than the rest — subtly evoking the leg joints of a Gray Rock Beetle.

Lu Yuan rested his hand on the hilt. Information flooded into his mind at once.

When it finished, a smile settled on his face.

The sword's name was Beetle Claw. It was an elite-rank Gene Armament.

Gene Armaments differed from ordinary weapons in a fundamental way: the special materials they were forged from amplified the wielder's capabilities. Furthermore, that amplification was persistent — it remained active as long as the user's body could sustain the load. Push it too far, and the body would give out entirely.

Lu Yuan focused his thoughts. Beetle Claw dissolved into a mass of dark light and flowed into his body, passing through the white mist of his inner world and settling as a faint phantom drifting in orbit around his Gene Chain.

The moment his grip tightened on the hilt again, he felt his strength surge — nearly doubling.

He ran a hand along the blade, deeply satisfied.

Of course, the boost was this dramatic precisely because he was still weak and the armament was strong. As his strength grew, the relative gain would shrink. That was simply the nature of external power. But right now? Right now, Beetle Claw was nothing short of a divine artifact for him.

He drove the tip into the rock at his feet to confirm the thought. It sank in like a blade through tofu. Compared to his old black-light alloy sword, the difference wasn't even worth comparing.

He stroked the blade with a contented smile.

*With this weapon, cutting down Gray Rock Beetles would be child's play. His growth rate would absolutely take off.*

So long, black-light alloy sword. You can get lost.

Done with the Gene Armament. Now for the real prize.

He took out the white orb, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.

Inside, strange threads wove and circulated in constant motion, seemingly following some arcane, rhythmic pattern.

Lu Yuan felt no surprise at all — this was simply one of the quirks of the Land of Origin. Certain pieces of loot came with embedded information that explained their function.

Information flowed in. A smile curved his mouth.

*A Transcendent Gene. The most essential thing a Gene Warrior could possess.*

This was his first.