Free Web NovelChapter 341: Chapter 283: Golden Body: Mutated Gene
This was a textbook provocation.
And it wasn’t even subtle.
Zhang Hongying’s methods were clearly not of the sly and cunning variety. Her revenge was "out in the open"—the type to go for a direct confrontation from the get-go.
Gao Neng immediately understood her "spirit."
That simplified the problem.
’He now faced two choices: fight back or instantly chicken out?’
His first instinct was to say, ’Afraid? Of course I’m afraid! That’s why I’ve decided to group with Fang Tangtang. Our power levels are the most similar!’
But after a moment’s thought, he realized that backing down wouldn’t do much good.
It would just lead to more verbal sparring.
But Zhang Hongying would definitely stick to the plan she had laid out.
After all, she was the instructor with power in her hands. And since she had come at him so brazenly, Gao Neng had to accept this wave of "revenge" whether he wanted to or not.
’Since that’s the case...’
’I might as well fight back!’
"Thank you, Instructor Zhang, for abusing your public office for my private gain. It seems those few pieces of Magnetic Crystal Ore I gave you were of some use after all!" Gao Neng grinned, his smile just as brilliant as hers. Then, as if he just remembered something, he added, "Later, Instructor Zhang, remember to use some underhanded tactics to suppress Shaximo. Don’t let him steal my spotlight."
"..."
The prodigies from the sects, elite families, and Military Department were all stunned for a moment, then froze completely.
Gao Neng’s move—taking the bait and running with it to frame her...
It was truly impossible to guard against.
Although everyone knew Zhang Hongying certainly wasn’t looking out for Gao Neng, his words were still enough to infuriate her.
"Gao Neng, did you really give Instructor Zhang those pieces of Magnetic Crystal Ore you got from the Dark Night Elf City? No wonder she deliberately made a pact with you and even gave you an S-rank evaluation!" Fang Tangtang’s eyes blinked as she heard this, looking as if she had suddenly figured it all out.
"Meow." Gao Xiaomeng waved a paw.
WHOA!
The moment Fang Tangtang said that, the members of the sects and elite families were truly dumbfounded.
’These two really aren’t afraid of dying!’
Zhang Hongying was the instructor for this assessment! There’s a saying, "When you’re under someone’s roof, you have to bow your head." Did these two seriously not understand that?
"Did he really give them to her?" Just as everyone was looking gobsmacked, another voice spoke up. It was Shen Ning’Er, who had been silent until now.
"!!!" The members of the sects and elite families went from gobsmacked to utterly shocked.
In truth, they had already witnessed the personalities of Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang during the challenge match at the Huashan Ancient Sect.
But Shen Ning’Er was different.
She was always so calm and composed.
’And she’s speaking up too?’
Just as they were thinking this, Lin Ying also spoke.
"He probably did, right? I heard from my teacher that Gao Neng brought back a lot of Magnetic Crystal Ore from the battlefield, but now he doesn’t have any. He must have given it to Instructor Zhang."
"..." The sect disciples.
"..." The elite family disciples.
"..." Wang Jun and the others from the Military Department.
’This is nuts!’
The culture at Eastern Capital Military Academy had really changed.
There’s an old saying that a rumor repeated often enough becomes a fact. After the descriptions from Fang Tangtang, Shen Ning’Er, and Lin Ying, some people present actually started to have doubts.
’Could he have actually given them to her?’
Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that Gao Neng made a pact with Zhang Hongying, and then, just as coincidentally, Gao Neng defeated Qu Ran and received an S-rank evaluation?
SNAP!
The small leather whip in Zhang Hongying’s hand snapped in two.
...
「In an office in the Federation Government Building.」
After watching the scene on the screen, several council members, including the old man with the goatee, all turned to look at a stern-faced old man.
The atmosphere in the office was strange.
"What are you looking at? You don’t actually think my granddaughter took some Magnetic Crystal Ore from Gao Neng, do you?" The stern-faced old man’s expression fell.
"Well, what else could it be?" another old man asked, blinking.
"Wentai! You old bastard, believe it or not, I’ll kill you!" The stern-faced old man shot to his feet, ready to throw down at the slightest disagreement.
"Alright, jokes are jokes. But, Old Zhang, your youngest daughter has really met her match this time," the goateed old man said with a chuckle, interrupting them.
"Sigh... My daughter takes after me with her temper. She likes to be direct. And now she’s run into Gao Neng... The kid isn’t old, but he’s really devious! Forget it, let her be. I don’t need to worry about her; she’s got my son-in-law to back her up!"
"Hahaha, a little ruckus isn’t so bad. We all watched that child, Hong Ying, grow up. She knows where the line is. This way, we can get an early look at Gao Neng’s true potential."
"Mm, a Tier Five Late Stage who defeated the Tier Six Late Stage Qu Ran with One Slash, and he can even withstand a neutron bomb. I’m afraid there’s more to this kid than meets the eye!"
"What, are you old-timers getting ideas?"
"There’s no need to hide it. Plenty of people have ideas about this kid. However, I’ve heard a rumor that he’s already spoken for!"
"Who? Who acted so fast? Was it Shen Changsheng? Is he really planning to marry off that precious granddaughter of his?"
"Not Shen Changsheng. Someone higher up."
"Higher? You mean..."
"It’s not certain yet. Let’s wait and see."
"..."
...
Zhang Hongying was indeed furious.
It was a rage that was impossible to hide, even if she wanted to.
Because the whip in her hand... had snapped!
The disciples from the sects and elite families all watched Zhang Hongying, waiting for her to explode. But instead, she took several deep, forceful breaths.
"Second group, Wei Ya!" Zhang Hongying announced.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Hongying didn’t argue with Gao Neng. But everyone could see that she was on the absolute verge of blowing up.
Wei Ya didn’t dare to delay and immediately stood up.
"Here!"
"Zhou Jin!"
"Here!" A woman stood up. She was the only other woman besides Shen Ning’Er in the top ten of the Dragon List, and she held the third-place position.
She looked gentle and frail.
She was 1.6 meters tall with a fair complexion.
But anyone who had actually fought Zhou Jin knew that some women couldn’t be judged by their appearance.
Zhou Jin, the head disciple of the Emei Ancient Sect.
After that, there were no more surprises.
Zhang Hongying called out 150 groups in a row, and the pairings were complete.
The inner doors opened.
Zhang Hongying was the first to walk in.
As the first group, Gao Neng and Shaximo naturally followed close behind.
Upon entering the inner doors, the true face of the research institute was revealed. It was filled with all sorts of instruments and massive machines.
Dozens of research institute staff members were standing by, ready.
"Instructor Zhang!" A researcher walked over and greeted Zhang Hongying, holding a stack of forms covered in densely packed numbers.
"Mm, we can begin," Zhang Hongying nodded.
Gao Neng let out a sigh of relief.
’It’s not Dr. Lan.’
’That’s great!’
"Why is there a cat?" When the researcher looked at Gao Neng, he naturally saw Gao Xiaomeng perched on his shoulder.
"Gao Xiaomeng is very clean!" Fang Tangtang immediately replied.
"But..." The researcher looked at Zhang Hongying.
"I’ve left Eastern Capital Military Academy, and there’s no one else to look after my cat. If it’s a problem, I’ll have Gao Xiaomeng wait outside," Gao Neng said, also looking at Zhang Hongying.
"No need. Let’s just begin." Zhang Hongying waved her hand. It seemed that after what had just happened, she no longer had any intention of confronting Gao Neng head-on.
But Gao Neng understood...
This was the legendary calm before the storm.
However, the fact that Zhang Hongying wasn’t picking a fight with him over Gao Xiaomeng at least put him a little at ease. It meant Gao Xiaomeng could be brought into the Underground City.
"Alright." The researcher nodded, no longer fussing over the cat. He began his introduction, "This comprehensive examination will focus primarily on the body. The goal is to help everyone better understand their own physical condition and make adjustments in the upcoming training!"
Everyone nodded.
It was common knowledge in cultivation that understanding one’s body better before training was essential, because everyone’s physical makeup was different.
For example, some people had larger bone structures, while others had smaller ones. Even among bones of the same size, there could be differences in mass and density.
The data involved was extremely precise.
Understanding this data and then adjusting one’s training was a more scientific approach, but due to its demanding requirements, it was difficult to implement widely.
After all, every time your strength increased, the data would change accordingly.
Even the sects and elite families couldn’t afford to keep a horde of researchers on staff to perform comprehensive data tests on their disciples every day.
"This time, we will conduct a comprehensive examination of your bodies. From muscle tissue to blood, bones, and even bone marrow, we will compile detailed data. Of course, this data is the result of decades of our research."
"Mm." The crowd nodded again.
"In addition, we have also arranged for talent testing, magnetic core testing, physical mutation testing, latent gene testing, and so on!" the researcher continued.
"..."
The researcher’s introduction was extremely detailed.
He went over the requirements and procedures for basically every test and also explained the significance of the test data.
Gao Neng didn’t let his mind wander at this moment.
He had developed good listening habits during his school years; otherwise, he never would have been able to get a perfect score on the theory portion of his college entrance exams.
’He knew when to be obedient!’
Of course, there was another important reason: the more clearly he understood things, the better he could handle the various "storms" Zhang Hongying had in store for him.
Twenty minutes later, the researcher’s introduction was finally complete.
And after the researcher finished, Zhang Hongying’s gaze finally fell upon Gao Neng once more.
She smiled again.
And this smile was even more "sincere" than the last.
"For this first test, let’s have Shaximo and Gao Neng from the first group give everyone a demonstration."
"Yes!" Shaximo nodded and walked out briskly. At the same time, he quickly took off his shirt, revealing a body as flawless as jade.
But soon, that flawless skin began to change.
A golden sheen spread across it.
The golden color grew deeper and deeper until, by the time Shaximo reached Zhang Hongying, his entire upper body looked as if it were cast from gold.
It wasn’t just his body; even his eyes had turned gold.
"It really is the Golden Body Arhat!" Lin Ying said at this moment. Then, she looked at Gao Neng. "Gao Neng, you’re very strong, but it’s best not to compete with Shaximo during the tests, because he has mutated genes in his body!"
