Swallowing the Stars: 100x Return for Teaching Apprentices

Chapter 37 Return Again, The Leap of Life (Part Two)

Upon seeing the system return the reward, Qi Yuan felt as if he had been hit by a mountain of gold falling from the sky, and his head began to spin.
[Successfully gifted my disciple one S-grade bloodline evolution agent!]

[Base return rate 30x, return begins.]

[The gifted item has brought great joy to the disciple, triggering a 100x critical hit reward, with a final return multiplier of 3000x!]

[Return Reward: 300 drops of Dragon Essence. This return triggers a perfect critical hit, granting a special reward: 1 Dragon Crystal.]

The reward has been stored in the system space and can be claimed at any time.

"Perfect reward!"

"Haha, I actually triggered the perfect reward! My newly accepted disciple is really giving me face!"

"Holy crap, Dragon Essence! They gave me 300 drops all at once! Judging by the ratio, this is an even more precious treasure than an S-grade Bloodline Evolution Agent! I'm going to be rich!"

"And Dragon Essence Crystals, as a special reward, must be much more precious than Dragon Essence Essence!"

He quickly reviewed the system introduction of Qilongyuan Crystal.

He was instantly stunned by just one glance!

[Dragon Essence Crystal, a rare treasure of heaven and earth, can slightly enhance the level of one's life genes after consumption!]

"Heavens! It's a treasure that can elevate the level of one's life genes! Is this something I can even access right now?"

Qi Yuan felt as if he had been hit by a mountain of gold and then fallen into a wine vat.

Not only was my head spinning, but scenes that could only appear in my dreams kept flashing through my mind!

Treasures that can elevate the genetic level of life are beyond the measure of money!
Treasures of this level are extremely rare, and generally only the most powerful immortals and above can come into contact with them.

Even if you're a regular realm lord and have money, you can't even see such a treasure, let alone buy it.

Therefore, even if this Dragon Essence Crystal only slightly enhances the level of life's genes, its price would still reach an astonishingly exaggerated figure!

If news were to spread that Qi Yuan possessed such a treasure, many domain lords, realm lords, and even immortal gods would likely seek him out to kill him and seize the treasure!
"Just to be on the safe side, let's use it on it right away!"

Qi Yuan forcibly suppressed the overwhelming joy in his heart.

He looked at Liao Li, who was kneeling respectfully before him, and gently raised his hand to brush her away.

"Go back now and use this S-grade bloodline evolution agent immediately. Do not save it."

"is teacher!"

Liao Li respectfully accepted the briefcase containing the S-grade bloodline evolution agent and the dragon vein fruit, and then quickly returned to his usual cultivation room.

Not long after, Qi Yuan faintly heard extremely suppressed, painful growls coming from Liao Li's room.

"Hehe, the Bloodline Evolution Agent doesn't taste good, but after using it, my disciple's foundation should improve considerably. I wonder if the return multiplier will increase accordingly."

Qi Yuan didn't rush to use the Dragon Essence Crystal, but instead sat quietly by the window and waited.

More than an hour later, the painful growls from Liao Li's side gradually subsided, and in turn, an extremely powerful life force rapidly spread out.

"Evolution complete?"

Qi Yuan immediately looked at the system panel in his mind—

Name: Liao Li

[Ethnicity: Li people of Sichuan]

[Realm: Stellar Level, Second Order]

[Attribute: Thunder]

[Cultivation Style: Martial Artist]

[Base return rate: 33x]

"33 times! That's a real improvement!"

Qi Yuan's eyes lit up immediately!
After using an S-grade bloodline potion, Liao Li's base return multiplier actually increased from 30 times to 33 times!
Although the improvement was small, it gave Qi Yuan a glimmer of hope!
"An improvement in bloodline means an improvement in foundation and potential. Does this mean that the system determines the base return rate based on the disciple's potential?"

"Since the base return rate can be increased, can I cultivate a genius with an extremely high return rate myself?"

However, after only a brief consideration, he abandoned the idea. Transforming an ordinary disciple into a super genius with a base multiplier of seventy or eighty times would require an unimaginable amount of resources and effort.

He'd be better off just finding a highly talented disciple with a high probability of success!

"Well, Liao Li's improvement is basically complete, now it's my turn."

Qi Yuan withdrew his gaze from Liao Li's direction.

He walked to the center of the room and sat down directly on the floor.

Then, on a whim, he took out the Dragon Essence Crystal he had just acquired from the system space.

The Dragon Essence Crystal is about the size of an infant's fist, blood red in color, yet faint golden light shines through from within.

Furthermore, an invisible wave, like the beating of a heart, constantly emanated from it, causing Qi Yuan's soul to tremble.

"Dragon Source Crystal, you need to pierce the outer shell and consume the golden liquid inside..."

Qi Yuan instantly understood how to use the Dragon Essence Crystal.

Without hesitation, he unleashed his Force from the tip of his finger, instantly piercing the red outer shell of the Dragon Essence Crystal.

Coo coo~~~
The golden liquid essence, as beautiful and dazzling as a gemstone, began to flow out from the punctured opening, and a longing from the soul instantly rose in the depths of Qi Yuan's consciousness!

"Suck--"

Qi Yuan immediately opened his mouth.

swoosh~
The breathtakingly beautiful, vibrant golden liquid transformed into a thin golden stream and instantly entered Qi Yuan's mouth.

The entire Dragon Essence Crystal was no bigger than a baby's fist, and the golden liquid essence it contained was less than half the volume of a small water glass.

However, after Qi Yuan swallowed it in one gulp, the golden essence spread throughout his body instantly along his esophagus, blood vessels, tendons, and even the gaps between cells.

"boom!"

A mysterious energy that cannot be described in words erupted within his body in an instant!
If Qi Yuan's previous consumption of 'Dragon Essence' was merely a modification of his bloodline and physical body...

At this moment, he is undergoing a comprehensive shattering and reshaping of his flesh and blood genes, his soul, and his entire life imprint!

"Chi chi chi~~~"

Every inch of Qi Yuan's flesh and blood, every cell in his body, and even his gene fragments are constantly breaking down, being filtered, regenerating, and recombinating, and even his genetic information is changing.

At the same time, his soul and will were being crushed by a giant millstone, and his entire soul was on the verge of collapse and extinction.

However, during this process, strands of special golden energy were constantly being injected into his genes and cells, merging into his soul, and promoting the rapid reshaping of his body's genes, cells, and soul.

That's how it is—constantly disintegrating, fading away, constantly regenerating, and reshaping.
Qi Yuan's entire body was twitching unconsciously.

pain!

The ultimate pain that truly penetrates to the very soul!
Sometimes it felt like a volcanic eruption inside him, his whole body was engulfed by lava and burned to ashes.

At times, it felt like falling into a bottomless ice cave, the biting cold seemingly freezing even his soul!

Kaka~~
Qi Yuan's skeleton was deformed, and his shoulder bones were bulging, as if a pair of wings were about to burst out of his body!

His fingers were also mutating, transforming into something as sharp as a beast's claws.

His eyes, teeth, and internal organs were all undergoing various abnormal changes.
This state of pain and mutation lasted for nearly an hour—

His body's genes, cells, soul, and will finally seemed to have found a perfect balance.

"Chi chi chi~~~"

His cells rapidly divided and proliferated, recombinating, and his soul, which was on the verge of collapse, reassembled in a more resilient and clear state.

The various physical abnormalities gradually disappeared, and he returned to his original form.

Everything seemed to have returned to calm.

However, beneath this calm, a leap from a higher level of life was beginning to occur—

(End of this chapter)