Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  Unit A-35, Great Tang Residences.

  Ling Xiaotong, Ling Jiu’s younger sister, held a glass of orange juice in her hand, and her eyes were filled with admiration. “Congratulations on passing the assessment and getting the top spot. You are my idol from now on!”

  “What idol? I’m your elder brother!”

  Ling Jiu rolled his eyes as he clinked glasses with his young sister.

  “Who says a brother can’t be an idol?”

  His younger sister rolled her eyes back at him. “Are you going to sign a new contract with the company tomorrow, and we’ll have to move house again, Brother?”

  Ling Jiu nodded. “My contract with the company is of a C-level now. Tomorrow, we will sign an A-level contract, which comes with a bungalow, a level up from the one we are currently staying in!”

  “Ahh, a bungalow!”

  His younger sister’s eyes brightened up. “I knew we would move to a bungalow someday when you awakened your special ability. But I never expected the day to come so soon. You are awesome, Brother!”

  “Now you know!”

  Ling Jiu flipped his long hair back, trying to look cool. “I, your brother, will be the most powerful man in the world. The bungalow is just the beginning!”

  “The most powerful man in the world? Yeah, talk big!”

  His younger sister rolled her eyes. “Emperor Might from your company has been the default most powerful man in the world for thirty consecutive years. He’ll be the first one to disagree with you!”

  “He might be more powerful than me now, but it will be hard to say in the future!” Ling Jiu chuckled. “Becoming the world’s number one is my first small goal!”

  “You call that a small goal?”

  His younger sister was struck dumb.

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  “Yeah, that’s a small goal!”

  Watching his children have a friendly bicker with each other, Ling Tianci felt happy and proud. His marriage and business had ended in a failure, but having a pair of children made him feel more successful than anything else.

  The family of three stayed up late that night. After Ling Jiu cleaned himself up, he returned to his spacious room and switched on his computer.

  The Direbeasts had invaded this world and affected the development of technology, but technologies such as microchips, material technology, and virtual projection were still booming.

  Among them was computer technology.

  The computers in this world were smart and flexible. They could fit inside the pocket like a mobile phone and were wearable like a watch.

  Not only did they possess all the functions of a computer in his past life but also thousands of other uses that previous computers lacked. There was a “real-life mirror” for traveling anywhere, a “simulated piano” that could create staves and perform pieces, as well as the “Maliang Pen” that could turn drawings into real-life objects, to name a few.

  Other than these functions, the smart-home system was the most widely used technology, just like the smart-home-system-equipped bungalow where Ling Jiu currently stayed.

  It could wake you up in the morning, remind you to take your breakfast, get a hot shower ready for you, automatically clean up the garbage, and even alert the police during an emergency.

  In simple words, the computers in this world were terrific. Animation, games, movies, and dramas were very advanced. Recluses would find this place a paradise.

  Ling Jiu logged in to the company’s website. After he used his ID card as authentication to gain access, a cute ant showed up on the screen.

  “Nice to meet you, Ling Jiu. I am your assistant to help you navigate the official website of Pangu Arcana Combine. Let me walk you through the website!”

  The ant sounded excited. “Pangu’s official website is divided into five sections: the background, news, forum, mall, and Arcanist management!

  “The background section mainly introduces the history and organizational structure of the company.

  “The news section contains company memos and current news, through which you can learn about Pangu Arcana Combine’s decisions and everything that happens around the world without needing to leave your home!

  “The forum……

  “The mall is the place where you can find and buy any items that you want such as Gene arcana secret techniques, special ability manuals, weaponry, transport, protective equipment, electronic devices, gourmet items, medical supplies, and treasures of Heaven and Earth!

  “Of course, you can hire a higher-level Arcanist for one-to-one tutoring if you have the money!”

  “Tell me more about the Gene Arcana secret technique!”

  “It is the internal-strength cultivation method of our Arcanists. It is divided into four types, namely beginner, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate. Different levels produce different levels of cultivation base!”

  “Ultimate Gene Arcana?”

  It stunned Ling Jiu to hear that. Instructor Bai Yang had never talked about the ultimate Gene Arcana secret technique.

  “It is the pinnacle of the Gene Arcana secret techniques, which makes Gene Arcana absorption 10,000 times more effective!” the little ant said.

  “Ten-thousand times! Wow!”

  Ling Jiu gaped in awe. While the beginner one only granted an absorption rate that was 10 times more effective, the ultimate Gene Arcana technique made it 10,000 times. The difference was just like day and night.

  “If I had this ultimate Gene Arcana secret technique, one day of cultivation would produce a result equivalent to twenty-seven years of normal cultivation? A year of cultivation equated to 10,000 years of normal cultivation?”

  Shocking!

  Aspiring!

  Ling Jiu was gasping. “How much does the ultimate Gene Arcana secret technique cost?”

  “The ultimate Gene Arcana secret technique is the crown jewel of the company, not measurable in terms of money. It is not for sale unless there is some special contribution.”

  The little ant still looked excited while Ling Jiu’s expression had collapsed. Not for sale? Then why did they put it in the mall? Just to tease people?

  “What about the advanced Gene Arcana tecnique?”

  Since the ultimate Gene Arcana technique was not for sale, Ling Jiu would settle for second-best: the advanced Gene Arcana technique that increased the effectiveness of the absorption rate by 1,000 times.

  “The advanced Gene Arcana secret technique costs ten billion!”

  “Ten billion?”

  Disappointment was written all over his face. His monthly pay was only 1,000,000, and he would need to save up for 10,000 months or 833 years for it.

  I would be long dead in 833 years!

  Ling Jiu cursed in his mind, fighting back the urge to smash things up while steering the conversation away. “Tell me about the other Arcana manuals, Little Ant!”

  “If the Gene Arcana secret technique is an internal-strength cultivation method, then Arcana manuals would be martial art manuals like The Demonbane Sword, The Solitary Nine Sword, Star Devourer, and the like!

  “Arcanists can gain greater strength with these Arcana manuals!”

  “The Arcana manuals?”


  Chapter 20: Sands of Annihilation, the Treasure of Heaven and Earth

  Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  “Martial arts manuals?”

  Ling Jiu’s eyes lit up.

  “Just like the Gene Arcana secret technique, the Arcana manuals are divided into basic, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate Arcana manuals!” the little ant said.

  “Different classes of Arcana manuals bear different costs. However, they are still much cheaper than the Gene Arcana secret techniques of the same class. The basic Arcana manuals start from one million, intermediate Arcana manuals start from ten million, advanced manuals start from a hundred million, and the ultimate manuals, a billion!

  “Of course, different Arcanas have different manuals and fall into different categories: metal, wood, fire, water, and earth!”

  “They are much cheaper compared to the Gene Arcana secret techniques!” Ling Jiu sighed. “May I take a look at the Earth-element Arcana manuals?”

  A table popped up on the screen, listing various basic Earth-element Arcana manuals, complete with their titles and brief introductions.

  “Let’s take a look at the first one, The Spiral Stone Spear!”

  The Spiral Stone Spear: Basic Earth-element Arcana manual. Thanks to its rapid rotation, The Spiral Stone Spear has higher penetration ability and speed. It is also two times more lethal than ordinary stone spears!

  “The Spiral Stone Spear is two times more lethal than an ordinary stone spear. Not too bad!”

  Ling Jiu scrolled down the list. Other than The Spiral Stone Spear, there was The Rapid Mudshot, The Earthen Brambles, and The Colossal Stone Hammer.

  Hold on a second!

  There were over 10,000 types.

  These basic Earth-element Arcana manuals had limitations; their power was two times the strength of ordinary Arcana at most.

  Following that, Ling Jiu clicked on the intermediate Earth-element Arcana manuals.

  The Meteor Hammer: intermediate Earth-element Arcana manual. The hammer shoots out at high speed on a fixed trajectory, combing kinetic and potential energies so it produces four times the lethality of an ordinary stone hammer upon impacting the target.

  Brutal Stalagmite.

  \r \r \r

  “Intermediate Arcana manual…… Four times the lethality of an ordinary Arcana, but bad!”

  Ling Jiu continued to scroll and found that the advanced Arcana manuals had skills that were eight times the strength of ordinary Arcana.

  Meanwhile, the ultimate Arcana manuals contained skills that were twenty times the strength of ordinary Arcana, but their prices were also appropriately higher—one hundred million and one billion, respectively.

  “I can only afford the basic Arcana manuals. The advanced and ultimate Arcana manuals are way beyond my budget!

  “It’s all about money!”

  Ling Jiu let out a sigh of disappointment. He initially thought that after he became an Arcanist and lived in a bungalow with millions in annual pay, he could join the rich men’s club. Only now did he realize that he was still no better than he was last time because he could only afford the most basic Arcana manuals.

  “Let’s see the weaponry!”

  Weaponry is categorized into cold and hot weapons. Cold weapons comprise the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth series, while hot weapons are of modern technology.

  Ling Jiu clicked the Earth-element cold weapons, which consisted of different types of earth: ordinary earth, heavy sand, solid rock, and special earthen substances.

  Earth-element cold weapons were divided into four classes: basic, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate.

  “I didn’t know that earth and rock were of different classes!”

  Ling Jiu clicked on the ultimate Earth-element cold weapons, which only displayed one type: The Sands of Annihilation.

  The Sands of Annihilation: a type of magical quicksand. It is not only incredibly heavy but also unbelievably tough. It is fireproof with a high melting point and can withstand extreme cold. It is so far the toughest and densest sand element on Earth.

  Price: 10 billion/cubic meter.

  “Ten billion for one cubic meter? Holy moly!”

  Ling Jiu gasped in shock. A cubic meter of gold weighed 19.32 tons. A ton of gold was worth 270 million, which meant that 19.32 tons of gold were worth 5.2 billion.

  While a cubic meter of gold was worth 5.2 billion, a cubic meter of the Sands of Annihilation was 10 billion. Who could afford something more expensive than gold?

  That being said, this Sands of Annihilation must be terrifyingly powerful! Ling Jiu thought to himself.

  The earth-type arcanist could manipulate the earth, rock, and sand. No matter how heavy these things were, it would not pose a problem to the earth-type arcanist. But it would be another story for the enemy.

  Would attacking your enemy with ordinary sand be the same as using the incredibly heavy Sands of Annihilation? The answer was a definite no.

  “If I can get my hands on a few cubic meters of Sands of Annihilation, my combat strength will surely increase by several notches!”

  “Stone shots, stone spears, stone hammers, stone guns, earthen spikes, and swamps formed by the Sands of Annihilation are so much more powerful than those formed by ordinary earth and rocks!”

  Ling Jiu was almost drooling. “It’s a shame that this item is too expensive. There’s no way I can afford it!”

  Following that, Ling Jiu clicked on the advanced Earth-element cold weapons. Compared with the ultimate Earth-element cold weapon menu, which only contained one item, namely the Sands of Annihilation, the advanced Earth-element cold weapons had over twenty types.

  Osmium ore: the rare earth that contains Osmium, the densest metal in this world. This means it is the heaviest metal. The powder ground from the Osmium rare earth is 20 times heavier than ordinary earth.

  Price: 10 million/cubic meter.

  “This is still very expensive!”

  “Next, Black Sand!”

  Black Sand is the toughest synthetic material ever made. Sand that is ground from the black rock is tougher than diamond and 100 times stronger than steel.

  Price: 10 million/cubic meter.

  After he read through the entire series of weapons, Ling Jiu’s eyes were on fire. The problem was, there was none he could afford.

  “I am too broke!”

  Ling Jiu wailed to himself. He then clicked on the transport menu. The mall sold all kinds of transportation. Aside from ordinary vehicles, there was another type of vehicle that caught Ling Jiu’s attention.

  It was a maglev vehicle.

  Thanks to the Direbeast’s invasion, the material technology of this world had become extremely advanced. Among them, the superconductor materials were more advanced than those on Earth in his past life. Hence, the maglev vehicle technology was far more mature than anything he had seen in his past life.

  Ling Jiu could not take his eyes off all of them, from the least expensive maglev motorcycles and more expensive maglev cars to the large maglev airplanes as well as ultra-luxury maglev airships.

  “I can’t even afford the least expensive maglev motorcycle!” Ling Jiu whined. “It still costs at least ten million!”

  Maglev motorcycle: 15 million

  Maglev car: 80 million

  Maglev airplane: 300 million

  Maglev airship: 5 billion

  It was because of the astronomical cost that these maglev vehicles had little relation to the ordinary folk, and they were rare in Lantian Base City.

  Next, Ling Jiu went on to study the protective equipment, electronic products, gourmet items, medical supplies, and the treasure of Heaven and Earth.

  The treasure of Heaven and Earth was basically the essence of Heaven and Earth. Each type of treasure possessed incredible uses in awakening abilities, increasing Gene Arcana absorption, physical enhancements, and soul elevation.