https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-135-Target-Sixth-Rank-Seeking-Subscription-/12530307/
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Chapter 136: Mediocre Talent, Overbearing Pride (End of Chapter)
Chapter 136: Mediocre Talent, Overbearing Pride (End of Chapter)
For a fifth-tier Evolver to advance to the sixth-tier, the most crucial prerequisite is— A perfect harmony between their soul compatibility and fundamental evolution path.
As long as the soul compatibility reaches perfection, the subsequent breakthrough will be a natural progression.
However, it is much easier said than done.
Finding an evolution path that aligns perfectly with one's self is no easy task.
Sometimes, an evolution path may seem compatible in the early stages of cultivation, but as one reaches the fourth or fifth tier, they might suddenly discover that it no longer suits them.
And those evolution paths that seem riddled with obstacles in the initial stages, causing Evolvers to give up prematurely, may unexpectedly become compatible later on.
This is why the Universal Human Alliance and the Three Goddesses encourage citizens to explore and develop new evolution paths, even going so far as to allocate resources for this purpose.
Aside from a certain extremely secretive and unspeakable reason, the primary motivation is to provide countless Evolvers with more options. If one evolution path doesn't work out, they can simply switch to another.
With a multitude of choices, the number of sixth-tier Evolvers will inevitably increase, and once there is a substantial number of sixth-tier Evolvers, seventh and eighth-tier Evolvers will naturally emerge in abundance.
Thus, a positive cycle is formed.
As for that extremely secretive and unspeakable reason, it concerns the pinnacle powerhouses of the human civilization and even the entire Main World universe.
"The Martial Arts Evolution Path is something I founded and created, and it is extremely compatible with my nature. Soul compatibility transformation is an immense challenge for other Evolvers, and they might waste hundreds or even thousands of years struggling with it."
"But for me, it's merely a walk in the park."
Lin Yuan exhaled slowly. He knew that if he had chosen the Xuan Huang Evolution Path as his fundamental path, his soul compatibility improvement would have been far inferior to what it is now.
In reality, Lin Yuan was not suited for cultivating the Xuan Huang Evolution Path and was only able to cheat his way through with his heaven-defying comprehension.
However, when it came to soul compatibility transformation, his heaven-defying comprehension could only provide limited assistance. It was clear that if he had chosen the Xuan Huang Evolution Path, he wouldn't have even taken the first step by now.
His training session concluded.
Lin Yuan exited the main building and strolled onto the lawn of the estate.
His parents were relaxing there, soaking in the sun. Despite the myriad entertainment options available in the virtual world, Lin Shoucheng and his wife still preferred the real world, only occasionally venturing into the virtual realm for leisure.
"Ooooooh!"
Up in the sky, a streak of light was flying swiftly.
Without even looking, Lin Yuan knew it was his sister, Lin Yi.
Lin Yi had chosen the 'Psychic' Evolution Path.
This particular path was widely known, and the prerequisite for cultivation was not overly demanding; one only needed to possess mental strength above that of the average person.
The essence of the Psychic Evolution Path was to develop the Evolver's psychic abilities to interfere with reality. At the first and second tiers, the attack methods of Evolvers following this path mostly involved physical means.
It entailed using psychic powers to wield one or multiple weapons to attack enemies.
Similarly, Evolvers of the Psychic Evolution Path were among the few who could achieve 'alternative' aerial mobility even before reaching the first tier.
This entailed using psychic powers to control a weapon, standing on it, and then manipulating the weapon to fly.
Of course, this form of aerial mobility was far inferior to true flight in terms of both speed and stability.
"Let's see how her cultivation is going," Lin Yuan thought to himself.
He hadn't guided Lin Yi towards the Martial Arts Evolution Path, as no matter how much potential it held, it wasn't suitable for everyone.
After exchanging a few words with his family, Lin Yuan returned to the underground training field in the main building.
Just as Lin Yuan was about to continue refining his Martial Arts Evolution System, the voice of the intelligent assistant suddenly sounded.
"Master."
"Black Prison Claw from the Black Prison Family wishes to see you."
"Black Prison Claw?" Lin Yuan sighed inwardly.
Ever since he learned about Black Prison Claw's relentless personality from Captain Hou Ming of the Honor Guard, Lin Yuan had realized that his refusal of the invitation from the elderly man in the black tuxedo did not mean the matter was concluded.
"I'll see him," Lin Yuan decided after some contemplation. He felt that it would be best to meet and clarify matters face-to-face.
The human civilization in the universe had a well-established legal system, and with the Three Goddesses ruling from above, as long as Lin Yuan did not agree, Black Prison Claw would not be able to do anything to him.
Virtual World.
Personal Space.
Lin Yuan met with the young master of the Black Prison Family, Black Prison Claw.
He stood at a height of only 1.5 meters, but his skin bore black, intricate patterns, and he exuded an air of nobility.
It was said that the bloodline of the Black Prison Family was not pure human but carried the blood of other races.
Such phenomena were common in human civilization, and mating with powerful members of other races could result in the birth of an extraordinary genius.
"Brother Lin Yuan," Black Prison Claw greeted warmly.
In order to recruit Lin Yuan and follow the commercial roadmap laid out by the Black Prison Family's 'think tank', Black Prison Claw had set aside his usual demeanor and lowered his stance.
He yearned to return to his family and reclaim his position as the second-in-command, right below the clan leader.
"Brother Claw," Lin Yuan nodded slightly.
The two men sat down.
Instead of diving straight into the main topic, Black Prison Claw steered the conversation in a different direction. "Over the years, I've often watched arena match videos and realized that our human civilization truly has an abundance of geniuses."
"For instance, in the Dark Spirit Star Domain, an unparalleled genius was born. This individual awakened the Dark Elf bloodline and possesses an innate, profound connection with the rules of darkness."
"With such qualifications, they can easily sail through the soul transformation between the fifth and sixth tiers by cultivating any dark-attributed evolution path. Their chances of reaching the seventh tier in the future are also quite high. Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Black Prison Claw said, clicking his tongue in admiration.
"Indeed, there are too many geniuses in the universe," Lin Yuan agreed with a nod.
After becoming the Peak Lord of the Thirteen Peaks of Red Kunlun, Lin Yuan had access to intelligence from various domains across the universe.
With such a massive population base, it was entirely possible for even more monstrous geniuses to emerge.
However, no matter how high the potential of these geniuses, they were still just geniuses and not powerhouses.
Countless geniuses from the human civilization were assassinated by other races every year.
The more extraordinary the genius, the more they needed to exercise caution and maintain a low profile until they had the strength and reached the sixth tier.
"But no matter how talented they are, they still require vast resources to support their cultivation. Otherwise, their talent will go to waste," Black Prison Claw said, his gaze fixed on Lin Yuan.
"Indeed," Lin Yuan replied.
"Talent is important."
"Resources are equally important."
Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.
The reason why the human civilization could produce so many powerhouses was that it constantly expanded, seizing vast resources from other races and funneling them into nurturing their own geniuses.
"Eighty years. Serve me for eighty years."
Black Prison Claw spoke in a serious tone, "After eighty years, you can leave whenever you wish."
"And during these eighty years, you will have access to abundant resources, ensuring a smooth journey on your path of evolution."
"Countless evolutionary paths? All the evolutionary paths collected by the Black Prison Family are available for your perusal, Brother Lin Yuan."
"Cosmic treasures? Celestial artifacts? And innumerable secret evolutionary techniques? Brother Lin Yuan, just say the word, and I will collect or purchase them for you." Black Prison Claw earnestly gazed at Lin Yuan.
In reality, most of what he offered were empty promises.
The numerous evolutionary paths collected by the Black Prison Family? Even he would have to pay a hefty price if he wanted to browse through them, let alone someone like Lin Yuan, an outsider.
But Black Prison Claw didn't care about that at the moment.
First, he wanted to bring Lin Yuan under his command and then worry about the contract later.
As for browsing the Black Prison Family's evolutionary paths, he hadn't mentioned how long Lin Yuan would have to wait.
And regarding serving for eighty years, Black Prison Claw hadn't lied. After eighty years, Lin Yuan would likely be over a hundred years old and ineligible to participate in the arena matches. Black Prison Claw wouldn't mind letting him go at that point.
"Serve you for eighty years?" Lin Yuan remained expressionless.
In eighty years, he estimated that he would have already stepped into the seventh tier. Why would he serve a mere young master of the Black Prison Family then?
"I held back so much in the arena, yet Black Prison Claw still values me and is so persistent," Lin Yuan felt helpless.
He also knew that Black Prison Claw and those influential financial groups had invited him purely because of his performance in the arena.
However, Black Prison Claw might have discovered that Lin Yuan had hidden some of his strength during the arena match, which was why he valued him so highly and personally extended the invitation.
"Brother Lin Yuan, what do you think?"
Black Prison Claw looked at Lin Yuan expectantly.
He believed that he had done more than enough—not only did he invite Lin Yuan personally, but he had also offered more favorable conditions and reduced the term of service to eighty years.
"Young Master Claw," Lin Yuan looked at Black Prison Claw and said, "I'm not interested in the arena matches, so Young Master Claw doesn't need to waste any more effort on that."
"Ah?"
Black Prison Claw was stunned.
He had been rejected.
Lin Yuan had actually rejected him despite all the sincerity he had shown.
Black Prison Claw fell silent.
The warmth in his expression quickly turned cold.
He was not usually an enthusiastic person, and all that he had shown earlier was an act to demonstrate his sincerity.
But since Lin Yuan had directly rejected him, there was no need to continue the pretense.
"Lin Yuan, are you sure about your decision?" Black Prison Claw asked once more.
"I am." Lin Yuan nodded.
As the Peak Lord of the Thirteen Peaks of Red Kunlun, he could never join the Black Prison Family, let alone become Black Prison Claw's subordinate.
"Very well." Black Prison Claw stood up.
He had shown so much enthusiasm and placed so much importance on Lin Yuan, yet his efforts were met with an unwavering rejection. This made Black Prison Claw feel as though his sincerity had been misplaced.
In terms of importance, Lin Yuan was not the most critical person among the over two hundred evolving humans below the age of a hundred that the Black Prison Family's 'think tank' had identified.
However, he was the first to clearly reject Black Prison Claw's invitation.
"Mediocre talent, overbearing pride." Black Prison Claw stared deeply at Lin Yuan and whispered these words before disappearing from the personal space.
At the level of the Black Prison Family, Lin Yuan's talent as a fourth-tier Evolver below the age of a hundred was not top-notch.
Of course, it might also have nothing to do with talent.
But Black Prison Claw felt annoyed, thinking that Lin Yuan's pride far outweighed his talent.
"I must have truly offended him." Lin Yuan shook his head slightly.
No wonder the junior disciple his teacher had taken in ten thousand years ago eventually chose to reveal his identity.
In fact, when faced with Black Prison Claw's veiled threats earlier, Lin Yuan had also considered revealing his identity as the Peak Lord of the Thirteen Peaks.
He imagined Black Prison Claw becoming flustered and anxious, kneeling and begging for mercy, and even Black Prison Mo, the seventh-tier Evolver of the Black Prison Family, having no choice but to come and apologize.
But if he did that...
The junior disciple his teacher had taken in ten thousand years ago met his end because his identity was exposed. Lin Yuan might suffer the same fate.
The alien races would sense something amiss and launch relentless assassinations.
"I've already kept a low profile." Lin Yuan rubbed his temples.
Ever since he became an Evolver, and even after reaching the pinnacle of the fifth tier, Lin Yuan had never left Canglan Planet. He also tried his best to avoid trouble.
It was common for normal fifth-tier Evolvers to travel across half or even multiple star domains. While fifth-tier Evolvers couldn't survive in space, they could still travel across the stars by boarding human civilization's advanced spaceships and battleships.
Even many sixth-tier Evolvers relied primarily on spaceships and battleships for transportation.
These were the mainstream means of transportation in the current human civilization.
Yet Lin Yuan had never even left his planet.
Even so, Black Prison Claw had still found him.
If it had been an invitation from an ordinary financial group, Lin Yuan's rejection wouldn't have mattered much. But Black Prison Claw was from the Black Prison Family, one of the five major powers of the Red Kunlun Star Domain.
"Even if I reject Black Prison Claw, most likely nothing will happen. As daring as Black Prison Claw is, he wouldn't dare to make a move," Lin Yuan thought to himself.
The numerous laws and regulations of the human civilization in the universe strictly prohibited higher-tier Evolvers from attacking others without just cause.
Violators would be severely punished.
If Black Prison Claw dared to make a move against Lin Yuan in secret, it would be difficult for him to escape the investigation of the Three Goddesses afterward. At that time, even if Black Prison Claw didn't die, he would have to pay a hefty price, and the Black Prison Family might also be implicated.
However— One should not worry about ten thousand possibilities, but only the one that could happen.
What if Black Prison Claw went insane?
Lin Yuan considered this possibility comprehensively.
Realizing that he had thoroughly offended Black Prison Claw, Lin Yuan began to contact his senior martial brother.
As for why he didn't seek help from his teacher, if Lin Yuan had offended Black Prison Mo, the seventh-tier Evolver of the Black Prison Family, he might have sought his teacher's help.
But Black Prison Claw? He wasn't worth his teacher's intervention.
His teacher, the Red Kunlun Star Master, had already helped him enough. Lin Yuan didn't want to trouble him over such a minor matter.
Virtual World.
Lin Yuan arrived at his senior martial brother's personal space.
His senior martial brother was the first disciple taken in by the Red Kunlun Star Master.
He was also the strongest disciple, having reached the seventh tier long ago, and was always looked up to by the various Peak Lords.
"Junior Martial Brother?"
"Why do you have time to look for me?"
His senior martial brother's tone was warm as he looked at Lin Yuan, a delighted smile on his face.
Having accompanied the Red Kunlun Star Master for the longest time, he naturally understood how much the Star Master valued Lin Yuan.
The fact that Lin Yuan had taken the initiative to find him was, in his opinion, a good thing, as it would help improve the relationship between the martial brothers.
"Senior Martial Brother, there's something I need your help with." Lin Yuan spoke up.
(End of Chapter)
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