A Grand Sweep, Massive Haul

With a single thought, Lu Yuan sent electricity crackling through a squad of Third-rank Mechanical Guardians. They toppled to the ground.

Clusters of light drifted up from their corpses.

As Boss Grade creatures, they dropped generously — teal-hued Boss Grade items scattered among the glow. Third-rank Boss Grade Gene Armaments. Specialized metal materials.

None of it held much value for Lu Yuan. What he actually cared about was Spirit Power Gene Fluid.

A single bottle of Third-rank Enhanced Spirit Power Gene Fluid held the spiritual energy equivalent of ten thousand Third-tier Spirit Crystals — and absorbed far more smoothly than raw crystals to boot. That was his real prize here.

After pocketing the drops, he turned toward the enormous structure rising in the near distance: a fifty-thousand-meter skyscraper.

The core zone was different from the outer ring. The towers here were taller, grander — the highest reached fifty kilometers into the air.

He walked toward it. The vast plaza fronting the tower was dense with Mechanical Guardians. Nearly a thousand of them.

The rank-and-file patrol members were Boss Grade. Their squad leaders were Chief Grade. Twelve Lord Grade battalion commanders were stationed among them. And at the gate itself stood a black-gold Mechanical Warrior — roughly five meters tall, both hands wrapped around the pommel of a massive greatsword. The aura radiating off it was immense and oppressive.

A Third-rank King Grade Mechanical Guardian.

In a direct fight, Lu Yuan had only just broken through to Third-rank, and his King Grade genes were still untouched. A straight brawl would be a long haul — though Space Teleportation meant he could probably outlast it eventually.

That said, it was a mechanical lifeform. No need for any of that.

Lu Yuan's intent stirred. Every Mechanical Guardian on the plaza locked up at once. A heartbeat later, sparks jumped across their frames and they crashed to the ground in unison.

He walked toward the gate. The King Grade Guardian's crimson eyes tracked him — but it did not move. Even at Third-rank, it was a gatekeeper, bound to its post. It could not attack of its own volition.

Lu Yuan met those burning red eyes and smiled.

In the next instant, he activated Mechanical Dominance.

The King Grade Guardian's eyes flickered. The crimson bled away, replaced by calm blue. Lu Yuan had successfully planted a Seed of Dominance in the core of its being.

*Sure enough. Even a Third-rank Perfect King Grade Mechanical Guardian falls.*

At his current level, he could hold three of them under simultaneous dominion. Without his Spatial Type genes, he might not have been a match for a single one in a head-on fight — so gaining three as enforcers was a significant windfall.

He studied the Guardian, weighing his options.

Killing it might yield a King Grade Gene Armament, and possibly a King Grade Transcendent Gene. Keeping it alive meant another powerful fighter at his side.

He decided not to kill it yet. He'd explore the tower first and see what it held. If he found a King Grade Gene Armament that suited him, the Guardian could stay. If not, he'd take his chances with the loot.

Lu Yuan ordered the Guardian to collect all the dropped items from the plaza, then stepped inside the fifty-thousand-meter tower himself.

Three days later, Lu Yuan left the Aier Mechanical Ruins — not because he had finished exploring the core zone, but because his Battle-mark Space was full.

He hadn't even covered a tenth of the core zone. The ruins had simply overwhelmed his capacity.

His Battle-mark Space now stretched several hundred meters in every direction. Even so, the wealth inside the ruins had exceeded it.

Setting aside the various Third and Fourth-rank Talismans, psionic items, Gene Armaments, and Transcendent Genes — the Third-rank Enhanced Spirit Power Gene Fluid alone came to six hundred thousand bottles.

That was the equivalent of sixty million Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals.

Adding in the roughly thirty-million-plus Fourth-tier Spirit Crystal worth of Gene Fluid he had already been carrying, his total stores now amounted to over sixty-three million Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals in spiritual energy.

And that wasn't all. Three Third-rank Perfect King Grade Mechanical Guardians were bound to him by Seed of Dominance. One hundred Third-rank Perfect Lord Grade Mechanical Guardians — discovered inside the fifty-thousand-meter tower — swelled his forces further. Add in the mountain of other treasures, and there was simply nowhere left to put anything else.

He had no choice but to leave.

From the ruins, Lu Yuan made a stop at the White Cloud Continent. At the Auction House, he consigned a portion of his holdings — Talismans, Psionic Bombs, Boss Grade, Chief Grade, and Lord Grade Gene Armaments, and some of the more ordinary Transcendent Genes.

The combined floor value of his consignments came to roughly 130 million Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals.

And that was only a fraction of what he had. He was deliberately holding back — dumping everything at once would choke the market.

The scale of wealth he had extracted from the Aier Mechanical Ruins' core zone was staggering. A Fifth-rank Battle King probably couldn't match it. Even a Sixth-rank Battle Sovereign might fall short.

The remainder — Second-rank Perfect Lord Grade Mechanical Puppets, along with Transcendent Genes, Talismans, and Psionic Bombs — he intended to sell back in the real world, through the school.

He'd price the Second-rank Perfect Lord Grade Mechanical Puppets at thirty thousand Credits apiece, on par with a Lord Grade Gene Armament. See if there were any takers.

If he sold them all, that alone would clear six million Credits — to say nothing of everything else.

He wasn't counting on selling everything, of course. The Talent Camp had a limited number of students, and those students had their own demands on their Credits. Squeezing meaningful purchases out of them was no easy matter.

If he couldn't move the stock, he could always fall back on Amy — selling to her at a friendship rate, payable in Spirit Crystals. The Tianrao Mansion was a major power. They had use for obedient, high-performance Mechanical Puppets, as well as Second and Third-rank Talismans.

With his consignments arranged, Lu Yuan left White Cloud Continent and returned to Tianrao City to cultivate.

Sixty-million-plus Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals in reserve. More than enough to work with.

After breaking through to Third-rank, his allotted time in the Land of Origin had increased as well. He spent thirty-five days inside before the Light Gate expelled him.

A flash of white.

He materialized in his room. It was early morning.

Stepping out of the bedroom, he found Si Tingfeng, Maige, and Yang Ping already gathered in the common area, seated around the table over breakfast.

Maige looked up as he came downstairs. "Ah Yuan, what kept you so long? I was about to go knock on your door."

Lu Yuan blinked. "Knock? Is something happening today?"

The three exchanged a look.

Si Tingfeng smiled. "Today's the last day of October. Aren't you heading to the Virtual Room for your combat power test?"

Lu Yuan froze. "It's already the end of the month? That fast?"

Since returning from the Endless Mountain Range frontline, every day had followed the same rhythm — Land of Origin cultivation, then Steel Body training under Si Tingyu. Fully occupied. The calendar hadn't crossed his mind once.

*Two months enrolled already. And counting the time before that, it's been over five months since my Awakening.*

*Time really does move fast.*

He was still turning that over when Si Tingfeng's eyes went wide.

"Ah Yuan... you — you've broken through to Third-rank?!"

Maige and Yang Ping froze mid-chew. They spun toward Lu Yuan, staring.

Lu Yuan paused. He remembered now — during the days of his breakthrough, his schedule and Si Tingfeng's had been completely offset. Same with Maige and Yang Ping; he had only crossed paths with them in passing. At their cultivation levels, sensing his realm wasn't straightforward. That was why it had taken them until now to notice.

He smiled and nodded. "That's right."

"Cough — cough cough!!"

Yang Ping choked on his porridge.

He stared at Lu Yuan, horror plain on his face. "Come on, Yuan-ge! We enrolled together! We were all First-rank at the start! How are you already Third-rank?! I'm still First-rank!!"

Lu Yuan smiled. "I had access to the Spirit Power Gene Fluid from the Aier Mechanical Ruins — cultivation speed was naturally a bit faster. Oh, and speaking of which — now that I'm Third-rank, I've got some First-rank Gene Fluid I can't use anymore. Want any? I'll give you a discount, Credits only."

"Yes!! I want it!!"

Yang Ping practically launched himself from his chair to grab Lu Yuan's leg.

"Yuan-ge! My savior!! Please make it even cheaper! I barely have any Credits!"

Lu Yuan grabbed him by the collar, planted a foot against his chest, and shoved him back into his seat.

He thought it over. "First-rank Spirit Power Gene Fluid holds the equivalent of a hundred First-tier Spirit Crystals' worth of energy. But you know it absorbs a lot more easily than raw crystals. Normally I could get about three hundred First-tier Spirit Crystals per bottle — fair enough, right?"

Si Tingfeng nodded. "If you sold to the major families, you could push it to five hundred. To them, Spirit Crystals at that tier barely register — what matters is cultivation speed."

Lu Yuan looked at the pitiful expression on Yang Ping's face and sighed.

"Fine. I'll sell it to you at a hundred and fifty First-tier Spirit Crystals per bottle. Two bottles for one Credit."

A hundred Credits typically bought a decent First-rank Boss Grade Gene Armament — worth tens of thousands of First-tier Spirit Crystals. That made Lu Yuan's price fair market value, though he was deliberately offering a discount. First-rank Gene Fluid had no further use to him; having it occupy space in his Battle-mark Space was more irritating than anything else. Getting anything for it was good enough.

"Also — First-rank Enhanced Spirit Power Gene Fluid. Two bottles for ten Credits. You know what it does."

"I know, I know!" Yang Ping's eyes lit up. "I earned five thousand Credits from my last mission reward... and honestly I'm not that far from breaking through. So — two thousand Credits on the Enhanced Gene Fluid? What do you say, Yuan-ge?"

Lu Yuan studied him. The kid was sharper than he looked.

The Enhanced Gene Fluid was genuinely better value than the regular kind. Both held the same spiritual energy, but the absorption speed was higher — and anyone closing in on a breakthrough should prioritize speed. Yang Ping had picked the right option.

Lu Yuan smiled. "Deal. Two thousand Credits, four hundred bottles of First-rank Enhanced Spirit Power Gene Fluid."

He swept his hand through the air. A pile of First-rank Enhanced Spirit Power Gene Fluid materialized on the floor.

Yang Ping's eyes blazed. He pounced on it and gathered every last bottle.

"Yuan-ge, you're the absolute best!!"

Pure gratitude. He knew full well he had gotten the better end of this deal.

Lu Yuan smiled. "Train hard. And if you ever try to cling to my leg again, the shop's closed."

"I'm sorry, Yuan-ge, I was wrong!"

Yang Ping folded with impressive speed.

Something else occurred to Lu Yuan. "Actually — I've also got Second-rank Perfect Lord Grade Mechanical Puppets for sale. Anyone interested?"

Si Tingfeng and Maige both looked up sharply.

"Ah Yuan," Si Tingfeng said, clearly surprised, "you're selling your Second-rank Perfect Lord Grade Mechanical Puppets?"

"Mm. I'm Third-rank now — they're not as useful to me anymore."

Naturally, he still had a hundred Third-rank Mechanical Guardians and three Third-rank King Grade ones. But there was no way to explain those, and he preferred to keep them out of sight. He'd use them privately when the time came.

Si Tingfeng's gaze sharpened with interest. "Ah Yuan, I'm a bit short on Credits — would you take Spirit Crystals? Or maybe a trade?"

Lu Yuan considered it, then shook his head with a small apologetic smile. "Sorry, Tingfeng — I'm only taking Credits right now. I'm well stocked on Spirit Crystals."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Si Tingfeng's face. He exhaled. "Fair enough. My Credits have important uses too, otherwise I'd buy one."

Maige leaned forward, curious. "Out of interest — how much per unit?"

"Thirty thousand Credits each."

Yang Ping, who had briefly entertained the thought, quietly buried it. That was ten times his entire savings. Not even worth considering.

Maige exhaled as well, shaking his head. "The price isn't bad. But I just broke through to Third-rank — I need to save for Transcendent Genes and Gene Armaments."

Lu Yuan's eyes brightened. "Transcendent Genes? Gene Armaments? I've got some of those too. What grade are you looking for?"

Maige blinked. "...Let me see."

Lu Yuan produced a spread of Transcendent Genes and Gene Armaments.

And then Maige was done for.

He clenched his teeth and bought a Lord Grade Transcendent Gene — an assassination-type Mechanical Lord gene that happened to be on Lu Yuan's shortlist of future Gene Inscription candidates. For the rarer ones, he had always kept a copy for himself before selling the rest.

For a stealth-focused Gene Warrior, it was an exceptional find. The price tag: one hundred and twenty thousand Credits.

His accumulated savings were wiped out in a single transaction. Maige stood there, equal parts pained and pleased.

Lu Yuan was quietly satisfied. His Credit balance was climbing again.

And now that he had shown off the Spirit Power Gene Fluid, there would likely be more buyers. Word got around.

The four of them finished breakfast and left the dormitory together, making their way toward the Virtual Room. The second combat power test was waiting.

Lu Yuan was curious, too. He had inscribed Space Teleportation but hadn't been in a real fight since. He wanted to know exactly how far his strength had come.